Subj : A pie
To   : Alexander Koryagin
From : Gleb Hlebov
Date : Fri Dec 15 2023 22:38:10

+ 22:38 [4222] call to english_tutor
  22:38 [4222] connected
+ 22:38 [4222] outgoing session with 2:221/6
+ 22:38 [4222] quoting Alexander Koryagin -> Gleb Hlebov
- 22:38 [4222] TIME Fri 15 Dec 2023 22:38 +0400

 AK> ========
 GH>> Steak and kidney pie is a popular British dish. It is a savoury
 GH>> pie filled principally with a mixture of diced beef, diced kidney
 GH>> (which may be beef, lamb, veal, or pork) and onion. (google)
 AK> ========
 AK> "Steak and kidney pie" _are_ different dishes. "Steak" is just a piece
 AK> of meat, IMHO.

In theory, yes, it could be that S and KP /are/ different dishes. In the real life "anglosphere", not so much .:-)

If you think about it, it's not a great idea to have both steak and pie with diced meat in one meal, to begin with. Sure you can afford and have both and add a bag of "Lay's" to that, because why not? But in anglo- or british cuisine S&KP is positively one dish (and a recipe), as quoted above, plus "chips" aren't crisps like Lay's or Estrella but simply a plate of sliced and fried potato, like "french fries" in North America. Just indulge yourself and do a little bit of research on the matter. Otherwise, how would you learn things?

 GH>> 2.  Friend: asks "So last night you went to that restaurant?"
 GH>>     Me: "Yeah"
 GH>>     F: "How was it?"
 GH>>     M: "Great, I had a steak and kidney pie, at last"
 AK> Why "at last"?

Because I was going to try it for a while and that day the opportunity presented itself.

 GH>>     F: "THAT pie? For real? With chips?"
 GH>>     M: "Yeah, it's something else! Highly recommended."
 AK> -"else"? Maybe "Yeah, it's something! Highly recommended."

s.e., idiom.:
unusual, especially extremely good (or extremely bad):
"This game is really something else!"
Unique and unusual.

 GH>> Do you realize the difference between those two? Both are casual
 GH>> dialogue instances that can occur everyday everywhere.
 AK> I still don't see why I cannot use "a" in the first example. ;)

You mean this?

 GH>>     S: "Steak and kidney pie with chips"
 GH>>     M: "Good"

The context is kind of an everyday talk between parents and kids, like they know there's a lot of various food in the fridge at home and that he's supposed to take some food, warm it up in a microwave and eat. The reference here is the type of food, not the amount or quantity of it, like portions, servings, etc.

The more you learn the more you will see why you should or shouldn't use those depending on the variety of context. None of us 'tutees' is perfect here, we just keep on learning.


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