# Dear work, potluck is not a 'treat' **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 4, 2010, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-work-potluck-is-not-a-treat/541877 "2010-06-04T02:50:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2011, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-work-potluck-is-not-a-treat/541877/221 "2011-07-07T13:58:43Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > And watch it turn brown before your eyes. The acid in orange juice keeps it from turning into compost. Cover it, then. Keep it covered with saran wrap. Because funny thing is, I have seen fruit salad at these things, without anything on it, and it does last, if you keep it in the fridge beforehand and cover it quickly. And people eat it too fast for it to go bad. I have a personal dislike of orange juice and it ruins the taste of fruit. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2011, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-work-potluck-is-not-a-treat/541877/222 "2011-07-07T14:21:42Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Cover it, then. Keep it covered with saran wrap. Because funny thing is, I have seen fruit salad at these things, without anything on it, and it does last, if you keep it in the fridge beforehand and cover it quickly. And people eat it too fast for it to go bad. > > I have a personal dislike of orange juice and it ruins the taste of fruit. You can also use something like Fruit-Fresh. Doesn’t have the “why do my apples taste like lemons?” feature. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2011, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-work-potluck-is-not-a-treat/541877/223 "2011-07-07T14:32:14Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > And watch it turn brown before your eyes. The acid in orange juice keeps it from turning into compost. > [@Anaamika](#): > > Cover it, then. Keep it covered with saran wrap. Because funny thing is, I have seen fruit salad at these things, without anything on it, and it does last, if you keep it in the fridge beforehand and cover it quickly. And people eat it too fast for it to go bad. > > I have a personal dislike of orange juice and it ruins the taste of fruit. You HAVE to put citrus (orange or lemon or lime, I suppose grapefruit would work too) juice on certain cut up fruits, or put Fruit Fresh on them. Because they will turn brown. Plastic wrap will not prevent this, it’s a chemical reaction, it’s not a sign that the fruit has gone bad. Peeled potatoes will also turn brown, unless they’re rinsed, IME. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2011, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-work-potluck-is-not-a-treat/541877/224 "2011-07-07T21:49:11Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > No, a Waldorf salad is made using mayo. Did you mean [ambrosia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambrosia_(fruit_salad))? According to that link, ambrosia is a form of “fruit salad”. But I’m not going to argue semantics over what is ultimately a question of custom and usage. In your area, “fruit salad” means “chopped up mixed fruit” only, and anything else has a more special name. Fine. I was just curious if there was a logical reason for that distinction, which there isn’t. Fair enough. By the way, since we just had Independence Day here in the states, I will note I attended a big picnic party thrown annually by my sister’s in-laws. There I observed various practices to freak some of you out, notably 1. food on trays without serving utensils, such as chips in bowls, deviled eggs, bread slices, rolls, etc; 2. someone placing chips into a bowl from the bag, and using fingers to shuffle the chips around; 3. people dipping their chips into the communal bowl of queso, rather than serving some up on their own plate - I don’t think there were any double-dips, but I wasn’t really watching for it. I will also point out that my mother made deviled eggs, and served up batches on paper plates. At one point I went to refill one of the paper plates, I made sure to (a) wash my hands, and (b) use a spoon to move them from the tupperware to the plate. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2011, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-work-potluck-is-not-a-treat/541877/225 "2011-07-08T15:57:51Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > According to that link, ambrosia is a form of “fruit salad”. Apparently you missed my earlier explanation, so I’ll say it again. Ambrosia is a form of fruit salad in the same way that a cheeseburger is a form of hamburger. You’d never refer to ambrosia as just “fruit salad” with no other context, and you’d never refer to a cheeseburger as just “a hamburger” with no other context. Ergo, if something is simply referred to \*just \*as “fruit salad,” e.g., “I will bring fruit salad to the potluck,” at least around here, you just mean “I am bringing a bowl of fruits that have been sliced and mixed together.” If you showed up with a Waldorf salad, ambrosia, etc., the host might look at you a little :dubious:. (Well, actually, that would be rude, so they’d probably look at you all 🙂 and just \*think \*:dubious:.) ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2011, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-work-potluck-is-not-a-treat/541877/226 "2011-07-08T21:28:32Z")
A cheeseburger is a form of _burger_. It even shows up under “burgers” on many menus. > [@](#): > > You’d never refer to ambrosia as just “fruit salad” with no other context, I wouldn’t? > [@](#): > > at least around here Key words, which I acknowledged. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2011, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-work-potluck-is-not-a-treat/541877/227 "2011-07-11T14:05:49Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > A cheeseburger is a form of _burger_. It even shows up under “burgers” on many menus. Exactly. It is a \*form \*of burger, but you would never refer to a cheeseburger \*just as a burger \*without some frame of reference. For example, if you went to a restaurant that had a cheeseburger as one of its types of burgers, ordered a “burger,” and were served a cheeseburger, that would certainly qualify as screwing up your order. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2011, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-work-potluck-is-not-a-treat/541877/228 "2011-07-11T21:07:06Z")
## There are places\* I go to and order a “burger” and they ask me if I want cheese on it. Even after I tell them I want “no pickle, no tomato, no mustard” or whatever. In those places, cheese is just a topping and has no specific cache for “cheeseburger” over a burger that you happen to want cheese on. \*Like Fuddruckers. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2011, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-work-potluck-is-not-a-treat/541877/229 "2011-07-11T21:12:40Z")
[del]They ask you if you want cheese on it. They don’t just serve you a cheeseburger after you order a hambur[/del] You know what? I’m done. You want to hammer this fucker into the ground? Fine. It’s yours. Everything’s a fucking fruit salad. I will shit in a bowl and you can call it a fruit salad. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2011, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-work-potluck-is-not-a-treat/541877/230 "2011-07-11T21:40:04Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > [del]They ask you if you want cheese on it. They don’t just serve you a cheeseburger after you order a hambur[/del] > > You know what? I’m done. You want to hammer this fucker into the ground? Fine. It’s yours. Everything’s a fucking fruit salad. I will shit in a bowl and you can call it a fruit salad. Try ordering a hamburger in Korea. Or a chicken sandwich. I’m always having to make the diving catch over the grill to keep them from dropping cheese on it. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2011, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-work-potluck-is-not-a-treat/541877/231 "2011-07-11T22:00:09Z")
Here, please help yourself to some of this [del]bowl of shit[/del] fruit salad! ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2011, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-work-potluck-is-not-a-treat/541877/232 "2011-07-11T22:04:43Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Everything’s a fucking fruit salad. I will shit in a bowl and you can call it a fruit salad. Hooray for teamwork! ---
**Author:** ![curious11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ac91a4/32.png) [@curious11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curious11)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2011, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-work-potluck-is-not-a-treat/541877/233 "2011-07-11T23:14:24Z")
I’m glad this thread degenerated into a debate about what is, or is not, a fruit salad. I stopped reading after 2 pages and when it hit 5 pages I was worried that there were 3 more pages of negativity. Glad to see the negativity is gone\*! \*well about management induced cheerfulness in the work place anyway. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-work-potluck-is-not-a-treat/541877/234 "2011-07-12T02:44:04Z")
So we have a detestable manager here who, I suspect, is trying to solve workplace conflict by redirecting it among the employees. We used to have individuals or groups celebrating someone’s birthday by taking them out for lunch or doing a little private potluck. This manager got wind of it because some people complained, and instead of telling the complainer to shut the fuck up, created a monstrosity where every month we all have to pile into the break room for the montly birthday celebration. Nobody likes it, the food is usually terrible, and most of us would rather work than listen to her prattle on and on for 5 mins about how special we are :rolleyes: So for last Halloween, my friends and I at work were doing a bit of a private potluck. Just about 5 or 6 of us were going to bring food and share it, but then SHE overheard us. Suddenly, it became a giant event encompassing half the floor and worst, she made us plan it (possibly as some kind of deranged punishment). Her overbearing shitheadedness and tendency to butt into crap that doesn’t concern her made the event into a giant mess and a lot more work than originally intended ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-work-potluck-is-not-a-treat/541877/235 "2011-07-12T11:36:37Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > … Suddenly, it became a giant event encompassing half the floor and worst, she made us plan it (possibly as some kind of deranged punishment). Her overbearing shitheadedness and tendency to butt into crap that doesn’t concern her made the event into a giant mess and a lot more work than originally intended I would have brought a bag of marshmellows, the cheap kind. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-work-potluck-is-not-a-treat/541877/236 "2011-07-12T14:52:44Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Hooray for teamwork! By working together we gather to work! > [@YogSosoth](#): > > So for last Halloween, my friends and I at work were doing a bit of a private potluck. Just about 5 or 6 of us were going to bring food and share it, but then SHE overheard us. Suddenly, it became a giant event encompassing half the floor and worst, she made us plan it How is that even possible? Do you really work someplace so fucking fascist that you can’t even choose whom you eat lunch with? “Oh, I’m sorry, this isn’t a party. This is just a private lunch between friends.” Do you think the manager’s manager knows about the craziness? If you could document it, and then have several people go together to the manager’s manager with a concrete list of dates and actions to discuss your concernes and the impact it’s having on engagement, that might help. Assuming that person isn’t also an ass, of course. ---
**Author:** ![curious11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ac91a4/32.png) [@curious11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curious11)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-work-potluck-is-not-a-treat/541877/237 "2011-07-12T22:10:45Z")
I was happy, > [@YogSosoth](#): > > …some people complained… , now I’m sad. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2011, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-work-potluck-is-not-a-treat/541877/238 "2011-07-13T03:19:00Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > How is that even possible? Do you really work someplace so fucking fascist that you can’t even choose whom you eat lunch with? “Oh, I’m sorry, this isn’t a party. This is just a private lunch between friends.” Apparently, her description of a potluck means any lunch with over 3 people. We were going to use some empty cubicles to store the food, chips and maybe some salsa and chili, stuff like that, so I guess she took exception to use selfishly taking over a bare cubicle with nothing in it. We could have gone out, but the fact that we were going to bring food and use office equipment to store it was a no-no, that one thing made it “public”. And no, we really had no choice to say no to her at that point > [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Do you think the manager’s manager knows about the craziness? If you could document it, and then have several people go together to the manager’s manager with a concrete list of dates and actions to discuss your concernes and the impact it’s having on engagement, that might help. Assuming that person isn’t also an ass, of course. Oh she definitely knows. Thing is, she’d say the same thing, she’s probably worse. There’s a story on her, well, several stories. Back when she was a lower manager, her higher up was this sleazy guy who had harassed several female employees. She knew it, everybody knew it. However, when he was caught on other charges. When the company investigated, this whore stuck with management against the employees. She didn’t make a statement, instead actually gave him a positive appraisal, and from what I heard, asked another employee not to say anything (she did though) So yeah, I’m not getting my small potluck ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2011, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-work-potluck-is-not-a-treat/541877/239 "2011-07-13T14:25:36Z")
Eugh. Fucking gross. So sorry to hear–I hate toxic office environments like that. ---
**Author:** ![Lady\_of\_the\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@Lady\_of\_the\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lady_of_the_Lake)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2011, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-work-potluck-is-not-a-treat/541877/240 "2011-07-13T15:28:16Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > You know what? I’m done. You want to hammer this fucker into the ground? Fine. It’s yours. Everything’s a fucking fruit salad. I will shit in a bowl and you can call it a fruit salad. Clearly, this is the perfect time to mention that I just realized that Ambrosia and the grape and apple and marshmallow filled ‘fruit salad’ my grandma would bring to her church basement bingo potlucks are the same thing! 😃 Thinking back, they made a \*green \*marshmallow fruit salad too - but it wasn’t green because of any green fruit… (They also called those disgusting jello molds with fruit either ‘fruit salads’ or ‘jello salads’. But I live in Minnesota. Fear our hot dish!) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-work-potluck-is-not-a-treat/541877.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-work-potluck-is-not-a-treat/541877.md?page=13)