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I'm after once great company names that are commonly used to discribe what a product does often by newer and better copies.
Like Hoover
You may hoover your floor but you use a Dyson or a Vax.
Can you think of any other examples of this please?
Tannoy
Sellotape
Thermos - though they may not have been actually bettered.
Rolls Royce - as in "a Rolls Royce solution"
Rollerblade
Frisbee
Bubble wrap
Did you Google that?
Coke? Though I guess you could debate whether they've been beaten.
Biro
Allen - hex keys. Again, maybe still a leader.
Phillips - cross-headed screws/screwdrivers.
Kleenex
Duc[t|k] tape
Durex
must be millions though I can't think of any more just now ...
chapstick
kindle
band aid (More of an American one, granted)
Fridge from Frigidaire, possibly.
Aspirin
Heroin
both Bayer
Fridge is from Refrigerator, their brand is a play on that.
Happy to be corrected below! 🙂
Fridge is from Refrigerator, their brand is a play on that.
twas why I said possibly
fridge (n.) Look up fridge at Dictionary.com
shortened and altered form of refrigerator, 1926, an unusual way of word-formation in English; perhaps influenced by Frigidaire (1919), name of a popular early brand of self-contained automatically operated iceless refrigerator (Frigidaire Corporation, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.), a name suggesting Latin frigidarium "a cooling room in a bath." Frigerator as a colloquial shortening is attested by 1886.
I like this info! Love this place!
[quote=Bimbler ]Aspirin
Heroin
both Bayer
Ah - product names rather than company names (yes - the OP is confusing). I suspect many drugs will fall into that category.
Corn Flakes/Sugar Puffs/Bran Flakes etc - some are copyrighted and other manufacturers have to label their products differently but they're still referred to by their original name.
JCB
[ Tarmac ]
Irn Bru (though I personally don't like the stuff..)
Tupperware.
Scalextric
Xerox
What you're describing is a genericised trademark. There's lots of these:
[list][*]Lino
[/*][*]Escalator[/*][*]Bubble Wrap[/*][*]Hula Hoop[/*][*]Aspirin
[/*][*]Zip[/*][*]Yo Yo[/*][/list]
edit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_generic_and_genericized_trademarks
Fantastic help
Cheers all
Heroin
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Rizla.
Phillips - cross-headed screws/screwdrivers.
Ah yes I remember the glee on my D&T teacher's face as he caught us all out on the difference between cross-head and Phillips screws in our mock GCSE exams
I once went for an interview at Dyson. As we left the interview room, I made small talk asking if they got a discount on Hoovers.... I didn't get the job
Perspex
App
Cashpoint
Fibreglass
Ah yes I remember the glee on my D&T teacher's face as he caught us all out on the difference between cross-head and Phillips screws in our mock GCSE exams
You're thinking of Pozidrive I think. Philips and Pozi are both types of cross-head driver.
Velcro
App
My understanding of App is that it came from the phrase 'Killer App' - ie an application on a new device that made that device more desirable (like Super Mario on a Nintendo machine). It almost certainly wasn't tied to a brand until Apple tried to co-opt it. Am I wrong?
Ah yes I remember the glee on my D&T teacher's face as he caught us all out on the difference between cross-head and Phillips screws in our mock GCSE exams
You're thinking of Pozidrive I think. Philips and Pozi are both types of cross-head driver.
Possibly yes, still no one got it right
Blutac
Irn Bru
😕
Muzak.
Just thought of another, Lycra, it's a brand name for spandex. Actually, given it's still good that may not count.
Pritstick.
My wife just asked me to pass her a J cloth, I gave her a Power Force All Purpose Cloth. She was happy.
Personal euphemisms?
You mean, she asked for a J cloth so he gave her one?
Skil saw (circular saw)
Makita (cordless drill)
Stanley knife
Dremmel
I think these count...
Perspex (Acrylic)
Teflon (PTFE)
Pyrex (Tempered glass)
Not sure about...
Araldite - do people still go to a DIY shop for some Araldite or some 2-pack epoxy resin adhesive?
I once went for an interview at Dyson. As we left the interview room, I made small talk asking if they got a discount on Hoovers.... I didn't get the job
My mate used to work there, he would never ever call them Hoover's. We used to try and catch him out after a few drinks but he never broke and always called them vacuum cleaners 🙁
[quote=chip ]Skil saw (circular saw)
Makita (cordless drill)
Do you actually use "Skil Saw" as a generic name for a circular saw or "Makita" for cordless drill? I can't say I've ever heard anyone do that.