For those who have not heard it, here is the anecdote.
During a visit to America, Winston Churchill was invited to a buffet luncheon at which cold fried chicken was served. Returning for a second helping, he asked politely, "May I have some breast?"
"Mr. Churchill," replied the hostess, "in this country we ask for white meat or dark meat." Churchill apologized profusely.
The following morning, the lady received a magnificent orchid from her guest of honor. The accompanying card read: "I would be most obliged if you would pin this on your white meat."
Only so long as she didn’t toss them in the wheelie bin.
When I arrived in the USA from England for a meeting (decades ago) I was asked by a secretary how I took coffee. I replied “white, with sugar please” as was the customary response there with “white (with milk) or “black” (without) as the indicators.
She pulled me aside and urgently whispered that in America you cannot say that! Funny how you can say you take your coffee “black” but not “white”.
The clearest dangers in ordering something are the exotic names drinks, in reponse to “what would you like.... what can I get you? Most waitresses, even new ones, have heard of Sex on the Beach and similar ones and take it in their stride in their stride but in Vegas, when I ordered a “Kahlua, brandy and cream” by it’s specific name, I have received undecided looks from waitresses who did not recognize the name and thus know how to handle the drink order.
This is called a “dirty white mother”!
After I was there for a while and preferred Grand Marnier to Brandy, they named my preference - (my name)’s dirty white mother when ordering from the bar.