why are plastic glasses called plastic glasses?

Answer 1

Yes - you are soooooooooo right.

I've been fighting this all my life - and before.

I think plastic glasses should be called Clive.

That's a very nice name.

Plastic glasses is not a nice name.

Also, Clive is a shorter name.

And there is only one word in the name - therefore saving a space.

Just think, if we could replace the names of everything with 2 names in it's title - like "Brown boots" with one word like "Blurp" just think how many spaces we would have.

Then, we could build some new planets in the new space.

And we could all move there.

And this new planet will be called "The Planet with One word"

and . . . . no, hang on - that's 5 words. . . . . . . . . er. . . ..

damn - back to the drawing board

Answer 2

a glass is three and counting glass for windows etc or glass for drinking and glasses to see with only the english language is this weird so you drink out a glass if its made out of glass or plastic i have glasses made of both and they both get called glasses but i will use plastic in front if i really wanted the plastic one lol
i wanted a mince pie recipe today the mince as in beef but kept getting mince pies for xmas we have brought it apon ourselves to confuse .

Answer 3

I have never heard anyone call them plastic glasses. They are not cups because they do not have handles, but that's what people call them.
Does it matter?
Even a stick in the mud like me admits that languages develop.

Answer 4

they look like glass but made of plastic?

Answer 5

Because they are plastic & they are glasses!!!

Answer 6

The reason for this anomaly is that English Grammar is no longer promulgated in schools or in the media. There are numerous examples of similar ilk. What is the status of an "empty bottle of beer"? Presumably, if all the beer has been poured from the bottle, the said container is now an empty bottle that once contained beer, or is recognisable by its shape or labelling as a container whose common utilisation would be as a miniature vat for the erstwhile beverage.

We also have a lot of misnomers. A "Hamburger" is a flat pattie prepared from beef, onions and breadcrumbs, and often spiced, and is not served in a bun. This dish originated in Hamburg, Germany. The Germans are rightfully proud of this magnificent creation (I am a chef, and I have never managed to create a Hamburger as good as the ones I have eaten in Germany, or in German controlled eateries in the UK. The Germans will not tell you their secrets in this matter, and who can blame them. However, they make a lousy suet pud!). Yet we persist in referring to bun-encased meat patties as peddled by well-advertised fast-food chains as "Hamburgers". THE GERMANS DO NOT STICK IT IN A BUN!

My utilisation of the word "lousy" in relation to German suet puds is a further illustration of the dilemma, as "lousy" relates to being infested with lice, and I am sure that our Teutonic friends do not introduce that parasite into their cooking processes. Beware of Lubeck crabsticks!

It is a shame that we are losing our grammar. As you may judge from the paragraphs above, good English grammar is expressive, and can also be amusing. Unfortunately, one can only be amused by it if one is capable of understanding it; as our media is often to be found reducing aspects of language and grammar to its lowest common denominator (someone's gonna win, someone's gotta win" - an advertisement for a competition in an English middle-class newspaper), it is likely that my generation will see the end of good communication in terms of grammatical excellence, at least within the middle classes.

Answer 7

I like Slartibartfast's suggestion. I'm callin' my "plastic glasses" Merv.

Answer 8

Good question - I think it's because they're modelled on real glass, copies of the genuine thing.

Answer 9

For the same reason iron pyrite is called "fools gold." It's not gold, but it looks like gold.

Any more questions?

You. You in the back. Go ahead.

Answer 10

Because thy are made of plastic mmmmmmmm.