Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Question of the Week

Have been having Blogger tech troubles so couldn't get in to post. Check back tomorrow and I swear I'll have my three days' worth of drama posted for your enjoyment.

In the meantime, "Pop" asked the following question, which I throw out to you good people for an answer:

Why do people call tuna "tunafish"? We don't have a salmonfish salad or a salmonfish sandwich. We don't have an anchovyfish pizza. So why the "tunafish"? And if it IS indeed tunafish, why do the cans just say "tuna"?

My guess? Straight-up Pleonasm. You know: pleonasm. The use of redundant words, like "tiny little baby" or "safe haven" or "tuna fish." Or maybe it's kind of like "pasteurized cheese food product" which signifies that the Cheez Whiz is a cheese-esque substance but not exactly cheese. Or like Pizza Hut's "pork topping" or movie popcorn's "buttery topping." Not pork and not butter. Just sorta pork and sorta butter. Perhaps tunafish is sorta tuna?

You tell me.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Interesting point, "pop". People call it "tuna casserole" (no fish) and sidestep it altogether with the shi shi "seared ahi" moniker. Perhaps it all began with delicatessens. If too many people were ordering chicken salad and chicken-of-the-sea salad sandwiches, then maybe they started the 'tunafish' wave (pun intended) so that the orders would be correct more often.