While in biological terms shrimps and prawns belong to a different suborders of Decapoda, they are very similar in appearance.
In commercial farming and fisheries the terms shrimp and prawn are often used interchangeably. In European countries, particularly the United Kingdom, the word “prawns” is more commonly on menus than the term “shrimp”, which is used more often in North America.
The term “prawn” is also loosely used to describe any large shrimp, especially those that come 15 (or fewer) to the pound (also called “king prawns”, but also “jumbo shrimp”).
Australia and other Commonwealth countries as well as South Africa follow this European/British use to an even greater extent, using the word “prawn” almost exclusively.
The Australian Paul Hogan’s use of the phrase “I'll slip an extra shrimp on the barbie for you” in an American television advertisement was intended to make what he was saying easier for his American audience to understand, and was thus a deliberate distortion of what an Australian would typically say.
In Britain very small crustaceans with a brownish shell, about 1 cm long or smaller when shelled, are called shrimp, while anything larger is usually a prawn. Shrimps are sometimes added to dishes not based mainly on them, and used to make potted shrimp.
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