Americans often get confused when in the UK because "chippy" can mean either a carpenter or the fish and chips shop on the street.
To, not really, help counter that the shop is often called a "fish and chippery"!
Depends where your are, chipper is common to some, others say 'fish shop', some 'chippy'. Other people say they're "getting chips", or "having carry-out" and leave the place to be entirely implicit.
That said, I've never seen it called the "fish and chippery", but it wouldn't surprise me to see that used.
Re:Who Was the Buddha?
by soylentcola on Thursday December 19, 2019 @10:47AM
(#21835878)
And in some alternate universe, "fish and chips" became "Molly's Lips" in rhyming slang, leading to phrases like "get lunch at the molly".
In building terms we distinguish a first and second fix carpenter. First fix is mostly structural and second fix is the rest. If your hair is wet its probably first fix - roof trusses and the like. Second fix will include things like skirting boards. It's not a hard and fast rule and will probably involve the same people. These trades are known as "chippies" (sing. chippy).
We also have cabinetry (your furniture smith - nice one) and other wood working trades. They are all called carpenters. A chippy is a carpenter and I think this a rare case where the nickname is more common than the real name. Civilians will often call a chippy a "builder". A cabinet maker is never known as a builder or a chippy.
The chippy thing is because a very small piece of wood is a "chip".
I think I know why you are a bit confused about the word carpenter. In the US and elsewhere, houses are mostly wooden. When a house is nearly all wood, then the word carpenter should mean builder. In the UK and elsewhere houses are built of sticks and bricks, mostly bricks.