French Fries - Word Perfect by Susie Dent.

 Word Perfect by Susie Dent for 4th December is 'French Fries'.

The fat-food chain Burger King opened its first restaurant in December 1945, further entrenching the inseparable partner-ship of 'burger and fries' in the Western culinary lexicon. In those days, the must-have accessory to the 'broiled beef burger' would have been known more fully as 'French fries' - a distinction still used today if chunky chips are also on the menu. 

The idea appears to have been American from the start - Thomas Jefferson had 'potatoes served in the French manner' at a white house dinner in 1802, and 'french fried potatoes' are later recorded in a cookery manual for maids. When the United states and France were at cross-purposes over the invasion of Iraq, French fries had a brief outing as 'freedom fries', before the term was quietly thrown in the bin.