LOL, Jim, no imagining needed! I totally remember how it was, when I came to the US. ;)

Moni

Business names (and signs) that are acronyms or abbreviations, whether sensible or homophonic to something completely different when vocalized or not, aren't unique or in any way restricted to American English or even English at all.

Walk or drive down a street in any foreign country, English speaking or not, and you'll see signs, logos, and names (often of abbreviations or acronyms) of stores and businesses that locals will recognize that a foreigner won't.

Odd timing. I'm not a visitor to this country, but just sat at a stoplight a little while earlier today looking at the custom license plate on the van in front of me.

CRAP

The van turned the corner onto a one-way and then I could read the lettering on the side - Cut Rate Auto Parts

Signs can be really funny in foreign countries. An example of a travel agency trying to translate into English.... We take your bags and send them in all directions

lol... makes me laugh every time.

When I was living abroad, there was an English teacher who was not a native speaker. He had a good grasp of the language, though perhaps not so much the poetics, and there were old pop songs in the book he was teaching from. He asked me to explain the lyrics of Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da. :D

I think that the sign being connected to what was clearly a restaurant would cut out a lot of the confusion for me. But then, I've been all over the danged world.

What DOES Ob La Di mean? What was Desmond doing with his barrow in the marketplace? (just kidding)

I've encountered this myself with one language among those I've studied/learned. It's one thing to have a vocabulary approaching communication fluency but cultural fluency is something altogether different. One doesn't lead to the other in either direction.

Interstate Highway Overnight Parking?

I know it's not that, I just made it up. It's as clear as mud. Please tell me, it's got me stumped.

Seriously? It's International House of Pancakes

Well I never in a million years would have worked that out. Thanks.

p.s. Snidely....yes, seriously! I am not in the USA.

Okay then, sorry.

No problem, you weren't to know.

Only in the US would they have the ego to name it the INTERNATIONAL House of Pancakes. Well, I guess technically they are now international. There are a couple in Canada and Mexico - and they are expanding to the middle east, but it was called International WAY before it went outside of the US. And, even though there is one in my town, until my grandson started going there with his dad about 3 years ago, I had no idea what IHOP stood for, although I was familiar with the International House of Pancakes. I never have eaten there because in our town it is notoriously one of the places with terrible health department inspection reports.

Wow, IHOP has been around forever and whether you call it "IHOP" or "International House of Pancakes", the one near me is very good. If you've grown up here you are most likely aware of what it is and whether it's a good place to eat or not. Do you feel mislead because they aren't (or weren't) truly international? It's just pancakes, for crying out loud. You are making way too much of it.

olychick, I agree with you in general. No better example than calling the MLB playoff the World Series. It's changed in recent decades but during most of the 20th century, baseball wasn't much played outside the US. Same is true for calling the NFL Super Bowl winner the World Champions. Insular attitudes and practices have long been deeply ingrained in American culture, practices, politics, etc., We have two large oceans and just minor countries to the North and South, so no one matters but us.

But in the IHOP case, something else is involved. Originating in Southern California in the 1950s (as I did), it was a place that featured ostensibly "international" breakfast foods. You could go there and get French Toast, Swedish pancakes, Dutch or Belgian waffles (I forget what name they used), etc, you get the picture. It's evolved a bit from that.

Augment, it's a nationwide chain of casual restaurants that mostly feature breakfast and used to emphasize pancakes. The food is nothing to write home about, as with other restaurant chains. I think local places tend to be better but the chains tend to find high profile and easily seen public locations. With big signs on tall poles so you can't miss them.

Thanks for the information. We have a chain called Pancake Parlour here.....I guess it is similar to that.

Never heard of them till opened this thread.

o j

IHOP; home of the Rooty Tooty Fresh 'N Fruity.

I'm always amazed at questions in travel forums about where to get the *best* extremely simple things -- like pancakes. West Maui now has a "Slappy Cakes", where you can cook your own pancakes *right at your table*. At last you have a reason to visit Maui!

SW, I guess they should have named it the House of International Pancakes!

Another reason to visit Maui is the Paia Fish Market in Paia. Share a table with 'new friends' and have a decent meal at a fair price.

There is only ONE reason to visit Maui and that would be to obtain plumeria cuttings. Jim Little's, preferably!

Chisue, why would you want to cook your own pancakes? There was a place in L.A. in the '60's where there were automatic, pop-up toasters between the tables so you could make your own toast, because the owner hated cold toast, but other than setting the darkness, there was no skill involved...