Talk:Jelly roll

Move to swiss roll?
I need advice from some Americans. Having been off cakes for over a year because of a temporary gluten intolerance (now overcome) and a strict nutritionist who doesn't allow sugar or refined wheat flour, I finally made a swiss roll a few days ago. It turned out so well that I then thought of contributing to the swiss roll article, finding out if it had a photo, and if not, making another swiss roll and uploading the photo. I looked at swiss roll, and found that it was a redirect to jelly roll, which seems (I hadn't known this) to have some kind of sexual meaning. In fact, most of the article was devoted to the sexual meaning, and only three lines to the cake.

I really think that a picture of my beautiful swiss roll would be out of place in the article as it now stands, and I'd like to start an article on swiss roll, with a photo and some background information, leaving out all the sexual stuff. But the article gives me the impression that "jelly roll" is what a swiss roll is always or nearly always called in the US. I've actually never heard of jelly roll (with either meaning), but I know that Wikipedia discourages changes from British English to American or from American English to British, unless there's a very good reason. Generally, we should stick to whichever one was in the article first. I'm not comfortable with "jelly", anyway, as a swiss roll can be filled with lots of different things. The one I recently made had lemon curd in it.

Although the cake meaning comes before the sexual meaning in the article, the balance suggests that the sexual meaning is the main one. In my experience, when a non-sexual word has an alternative meaning that is sexual, people stop using it in the original meaning. Very few people use the word "gay" to mean anything other than homosexual, now. They use "lively", "cheerful", etc. And when I was a little girl, I always used a rubber at school, to rub out any mistakes I had made with my pencil. The word "rubber" is not used for a contraceptive device in Ireland, but Irish people who have lived in America for a while come back to Ireland and ask to borrow an eraser, because they don't seem comfortable calling it a rubber. If jelly roll really does have a common sexual meaning, I would expect that more and more Americans would start calling the cake a "swiss roll".

Anyway, I came to this article, because I wanted to write something about a cake! I'd like suggestions as to whether or not it would be justifiable to shorten the sexual content and move the article to "swiss roll", or whether I should start a new article on swiss roll, leave all the sexual stuff in the jelly roll article, and mention that the term is also used for swiss roll (which would be wiki-linked).

Ideas, please? AnnH ♫ 11:22, 24 June 2006 (UTC)


 * I think the best bet is to make a separate article on the confection. In the US, we have a "Swiss roll," which is the same thing, but with Twinkies-like frosting in the layers and never jam/jelly.  In general, the term "Swiss roll" is devoted solely to this treat (marketed by Little Debbie).  I think making that a separate article is a good idea.  Break the redirect.  Also, I think that a jelly roll in the US is a pretty rare thing to make but always has jam/jelly in it.  On the other hand, "Jelly roll" is such an uncommon meaning that the sexual slang has almost precluded people making the treat, and the sexual slang has some justification, as it was important for the evolution of ragtime music (Jelly Roll Morton).
 * So, a single line at the top of the new Swiss roll article saying, "In the United States, some forms of Swiss roll are known as a Jelly roll" ought to do it. Geogre 12:23, 24 June 2006 (UTC)


 * I don't think it would be bad to have an article that talked about both the dessert and the sexual meaning, but if Swiss rolls are a broader category than jelly rolls, it might be good to have the main food discussion there and have references going both ways. It would still be good to have a picture of an actual jelly roll on the jelly roll page, though. Nareek 14:27, 24 June 2006 (UTC)


 * I think is a jelly roll.  However, no doubt because of the obsene associations, the company is pretty careful not to use the term.  Geogre 15:59, 24 June 2006 (UTC)


 * This is Hormel's illustration, and it's very nice, although I'm sure it's not free.  Geogre 16:05, 24 June 2006 (UTC)

I've started the swiss roll article, and have obviously cancelled the redirect. I've moved the cake-related information from the jelly roll article, and have added to the top: For information about the term "jelly roll", please see Jelly roll. I've also inserted: "A jam swiss roll is sometimes known as a jam roll, or, in the United States, a jelly roll."

Thanks for suggestions. AnnH ♫ 15:58, 25 June 2006 (UTC)

Primary topic
I suggest making the Swiss roll the primary topic of this DAB, pls comment: Widefox (talk) 11:49, 1 August 2012 (UTC)

Move discussion in progress
There is a move discussion in progress on Talk:Jelly Roll (singer) which affects this page. Please participate on that page and not in this talk page section. Thank you. —RMCD bot 19:48, 12 November 2023 (UTC)