Do they list "soda-pop" as an alternate term anywhere? What about people that use "soda" and "pop" to mean different things? For example, those that regard soda as being carbonated drinks which are more transparent and with lighter flavoring than pop, which is brightly colored and heavily flavored. Or those that use the term "soda" to refer to cans whereas bottles are usually contain "pop". To what extent do the terms overlap? When I refer to buying "a bottle of soda", I mean that it contains minimally flavored carbonated water. When I say a can contains "pop", I mean that it tastes like some flavor of pop rocks.
Also, what of specific flavors that are never used to refer to carbonated drinks in general, such as root beer, cola, or red pop? Are these terms to be lumped together and disposed of as all meaning the same thing, along with "punch", "soft drink", and all other terms indicating some type of beverage?
I can't imagine the linguistic poverty of only using "soda" or "pop", let along having neither in my vocabulary. When I meet people that really don't know the differences between those various terms, it puzzles and saddens me. Particularly since I often know for a fact that they have more practical experience with the subject of carbonated drinks in gerneral, but aren't able to articulate or understand that experience because they lack the vocabulary.
