I think fries amongst the younger generation may be more common, but fries to me has meant the really thin cut/french fries. Which I would still call chips, but I may be an outlier.

I think I know what you refer to as strak fries and I agree, however I would still call those chips, if you can see a trend, lol.

We also call potato chips/crisps chips. So, I often get asked by foreign friends how you distinguish between chips and chips. You simply add the word hot as an identifier.

But, I'm with you on waffle fries/chips. They're amazing.