Crisps
What it really means
Thin cold potato slices in a packet — what Americans call chips. So: UK "crisps" = US "chips", and UK "chips" = US "fries". Getting this wrong is the classic newcomer mistake.
Context, tips & common mistakes
Crisps — thin, bagged, what Americans call chips — are a British food group of their own: the standard companion to a meal deal sandwich, the default pub snack (bought at the bar, bag ripped open flat on the table for sharing), and the subject of fierce flavour loyalty. The classic canon: ready salted, salt and vinegar, cheese and onion, and the mysteriously pink prawn cocktail; every Brit ranks them and defends the ranking.
The crisp sandwich — crisps between buttered bread, added crunch to any packed lunch — is real, beloved and worth trying once. Multipacks exist for lunchboxes, sharing bags for sofas. One warning for the health-conscious newcomer: crisps-with-everything is a genuine national habit, and the little bags are engineered to feel like a side salad. They are not.