Ahahaha. You have stumbled on one of the great hilarious differences between American and British English.
I'd call what you call a "swede" a turnip or rutabaga. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutabaga (Isn't "rutabaga" a fabulous word?) They're pretty common. Parsnips are rarer - I'd see them every week or so rather than every day. (I can imagine saying to my husband "Look! They have parsnips!")
At the farmer's market, I sometimes see rutabagas but turnips are more common. Ditto parsnips -- I'll see them mostly at someplace (I have a particular stand before my eyes as I type this!) that also grows carrots, radishes, and so on.
But nobody would raise an eyebrow at your character finding parsnips and rutabagas at the store. If "rutabaga" makes you giggle as it does me, go for "turnip".
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Date: 2009-02-12 04:58 pm (UTC)I'd call what you call a "swede" a turnip or rutabaga. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutabaga
(Isn't "rutabaga" a fabulous word?) They're pretty common. Parsnips are rarer - I'd see them every week or so rather than every day. (I can imagine saying to my husband "Look! They have parsnips!")
At the farmer's market, I sometimes see rutabagas but turnips are more common. Ditto parsnips -- I'll see them mostly at someplace (I have a particular stand before my eyes as I type this!) that also grows carrots, radishes, and so on.
But nobody would raise an eyebrow at your character finding parsnips and rutabagas at the store. If "rutabaga" makes you giggle as it does me, go for "turnip".