I know the debate on tortoiseshell and calico seems to have gotten pretty heated so I want to put my 2 cents worth in. Calico is a term that was "invented" by an american to explain the difference between the different patterns of a tortie.

U.S. term for tortieshell with white cat quoted from several cat books including The Complete Cat Owners manual and The Cat Encyclopedia. This term is relatively non-existent outside of North America. So please, no more disagreements as you are both stating the same thing.