What is a “crosscut shredder” in American English?
Discovering The Ultimate Big-Box Store Wonderland
A2 English listening practice · American English · Picked for people who know a little
Americans take paper shredding seriously, partly because of fears about identity theft and stolen Social Security numbers. American shredders come in three main types: strip-cut (long thin strips, the cheapest), crosscut (small rectangles, the most common in American homes), and micro-cut (tiny confetti, used for sensitive documents). Office-supply stores rate each level by security number. Crosscut is the residential default; serious identity-theft worriers go for micro-cut. Americans treat shredder choice like coffee preference: strong opinions, brand loyalty, and online reviews.
In this clip, a couple wanders through a big-box store. The husband stops at the shredder aisle and points to a model: “Confetti and crosscut. Yep. The paper shredder I wanted.” American home-office and big-box shopping content runs on these small product-category obsessions.
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Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · SUBTLEX-US 2012 (spoken). These numbers are close, not perfect.
- ▸In American big-box stores (Costco, Sam’s Club, Target)
- ▸In American home-office YouTube and product-review content
- ▸In American identity-theft prevention content (Federal Trade Commission, AARP)
- ▸In American small-business tax-prep season ads (April every year)
- ▸In American sitcoms about office life (The Office, Parks and Recreation)