Grocery Shopping … in Gregg Shorthand!

Here is an interesting list of technical words: Groceries and Foodstuffs. Although written in Pre-Anniversary, the list is suitable for all series. (Taken from the Gregg Writer, June and July 1914.)

Next time you go to Kroger, keep this list handy.


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  1. Bloaters are a kind of herring that is smoked whole. If you're also wondering about the word Yarmouth in the list, it refers to a kind of bloater, Yarmouth bloater, from the Great Yarmouth area in England.

  2. Mary is an accent thing. I say it with long A, or something between long and short-A. (Well, not quite, but closer to that than an e.)

    Even though Gregg is phonetic, for unclear vowels in uncommon words, sometimes it's easier to use English spelling. When deciphering it and listing the options, the English spelling will be tested early.

  3. Plus, some people pronounce 'merry' and 'mary' differently. I don't, because I was raised in Northern California. I say 'cot' and 'caught' the same way as well. But many english dialects still differentiate between short vowels.

  4. Could it be because it's somewhat similar to the word "gate"?

    Incidentally, I have always wondered why "Mary" is written m – a – r – e in shorthand: why not m – e – r – e?

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