mmm... french fries

One thing that has always interested/bothered me is the different name for french fries that Brittish-land has. They call french fries, chips, and chips, crisps. Chips are flat and come from factories in colorful bags, not something you eat with fish. (Also, fish is a fancy meal, why would you de-fancify it with french fries? Is that why they call them chips instead?)

According to the all-knowing Wikipedia, there is an explanation of the different name.

The British usually serve thicker slabs of potato than the "french fries" popularised by major multinational U.S. hamburger-chains. In their homes or in non-chain restaurants, people in or from the U.S.A. may eat a thicker type of chip, called "home fries" or "steak fries".

It might just be a regional thing, but if its long and made out of a potato, I call it a french fry.