english toast

[Kingaroo]

In "Englishman in New York," Sting sings that he drinks tea, not coffee, and likes his toast done on one side.

What's up with that? Do English toasters really only have coils on one side? Or is this some old fashioned quirk from back in the days when people toasted their bread on a long fork in front of the coal stove?

[scarew]

English people drink tea and not coffee because India where english tea originates was once an english colony and coffee is from south america which has relitivly little english links.  Toast done on one side is from the grills/ pans/ stoves that toast was first made on.  English people often make toast in there oven grills so that unless you turn the toast it only cooks of one side.  It is quite nice done with thick white bread as is gives the illusion of freshly baked bread.

[Pinotage]

Toasters toast on both sides. I've never come across toast done on one side. (unless you count that restaurant crispy stuff made by slicing toast in half and scraping of the middle bread).

 

But on the other hand the lyric also says

See me walking down fifth avenue
A walking cane here at my side

Walking canes are also never seen.

 

I think Sting maybe was ingesting some substances when writing the lyric.

Walking canes are

[Chillum]

The song was about Quentin Crisp, not Englishmen in general.

[Closer]

top song though.

[booksworth]

Two more ways to produce 1-sided toast (called "french toast" by my wife, I know not why): - - -1) Sandwich toasters take two slices in each slot, so the adjacent surfaces don't cook.-.-. 2) Our 4-slot toaster has a switch controlling two of the five elements. Thus you can produce two double-sided slices and one single-sided slice in one go.