Do you 'fill in' or 'fill out' a form?

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I was always brought up to fill IN a form. Nowadays everyone seems to say, fill OUT.

I may be wrong of course but surely if you are putting information in blank spaces you are filling IN.

What do you all do?
 
I'm an inny.
 
I always ask to 'complete', the other two at work are fill outers.:smile:
 

ASC1951

Guru
Location
Yorkshire
Campfire said:
I was always brought up to fill IN a form. Nowadays everyone seems to say, fill OUT.

I may be wrong of course but surely if you are putting information in blank spaces you are filling IN.
I fill in, for the same reasons as you. Filling out is a creeping Americanism.

Their 'out' usage comes from looking at the other end of the process, i.e. to suggest finishing or completeness - for example, smoothing out a piece of cloth, or working out a coal seam.

Have you noticed that TV chefs now use 'off' in the same way? 'Rinse off your lettuce', 'fry off your onions' etc.
 

ColinJ

Puzzle game procrastinator!
ASC1951 said:
I fill in, for the same reasons as you. Filling out is a creeping Americanism.

Their 'out' usage comes from looking at the other end of the process, i.e. to suggest finishing or completeness - for example, smoothing out a piece of cloth, or working out a coal seam.

Have you noticed that TV chefs now use 'off' in the same way? 'Rinse off your lettuce', 'fry off your onions' etc.
I was irritated t'other evening by a BBC reporter describing how British forces were "training up" Afghan security personnel! :biggrin:
 
OP
OP
Campfire

Campfire

Über Member
ASC1951 said:
I fill in, for the same reasons as you. Filling out is a creeping Americanism.

Their 'out' usage comes from looking at the other end of the process, i.e. to suggest finishing or completeness - for example, smoothing out a piece of cloth, or working out a coal seam.

Have you noticed that TV chefs now use 'off' in the same way? 'Rinse off your lettuce', 'fry off your onions' etc.

Yes, I have noticed that for a while now. I could never see why they had to add 'off' to fry. Also 'pan fried'. I suppose they could mean in a deep fat fryer. There are lots of these little things that get on your nerves I suppose and it's only when you start to think of them you hear them all the time.

My husband just doesn't notice!

Just added this - I think all these extra words are a way of filling in conversation on TV. When a list of either processes or other things are being quoted, instead of saying "we had ....... " the "we had" is repeated for each item! I never used to notice that until my Mum pointed it out.
 

gavintc

Guru
Location
Southsea
I fill in, my wife (a Canadian) fills out. It is one of those language things. She contends that 'fill out' fits with the concept of completing something.
 
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