# Does pie and chips mean something different to Brits? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 24, 2006, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940 "2006-02-24T17:45:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2006, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940/61 "2006-02-26T02:16:56Z")
Okay. Hijack, but I’m genuinely interested in the answer. I just made the world’s most perfect cheesecake. It’s creamy and dense and could only be defined as “cake” in the broadest sense of the word. I topped it with raspberries. Would it be considered a pudding? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2006, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940/62 "2006-02-26T02:43:41Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > See, this horrid-sounding “cheeseburger pie” 😕, about which pastry is never mentioned, illustrates to me the comprehension disconnect between the Limeys and the Septics on this term. > > Over here, with the exception of shepherd’s and fish pie, for anything to be deemed a “pie”, it _has to be surrounded by pastry_. Sides, bottom, and top. > > That’s what “pie” means. Sez you, you bloody redcoat! 😛 Oh, and pudding is a thick sweet custard. ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2006, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940/63 "2006-02-26T02:46:44Z")
I know what an American pudding is, **Guin**. An English pudding looks like [this](http://www.prx.org/pieces/530). ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2006, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940/64 "2006-02-26T03:03:39Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > … > Oh, and pudding is a thick sweet custard. No, no, thrice no! Custard is custard! Oh dear, and that’s something else I haven’t eaten for a long time. I foresee a bit of a fat-fest coming up shortly. ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2006, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940/65 "2006-02-26T03:17:01Z")
Bah, now i’ve gone and exposed my utter London-ness. Curses! I’ll have to tell the gang in my weekly candle-scenting class this… 😉 Anyway, what I \*should \* have said was that those were the sweet pies _I_ liked. And I managed to miss out Banoffee, too, which surely is a gift from above if ever there was one. :smack: > [@jjimm](#): > > Over here, with the exception of shepherd’s and fish pie, for anything to be deemed a “pie”, it has to be surrounded by pastry. Don’t forget Cottage pie! ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2006, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940/66 "2006-02-26T06:05:22Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > That’s what I meant. We never use the collective noun “pie” to describe sweet things. We say “a pie” or “pies” and usually mean savoury ones - a classic humourous statement to make about a skinny person is “he should eat a pie”. > > **Caveman** , that’s exactly what the Weebl cartoon is referring to. What exactly do you mean by “collective”? We don’t say “I’m baking 3 pie for Thanksgiving” after all - the plural of pie is pies. I think you mean generality or generic rather than collective. As people have mentioned we _do_ eat savory pies in the US. Or some of us do, anyway. One of my favorite meals is beef and cheese pie with some sort of pasta on the side. However, we almost always qualify a meat based pie (“pork pie”, “turkey pot pie” etc), rather than call it “a pie”. And contrary to your assertions in this thread, obviously you do the same thing on the other side of the pond- call one sort of pie “pie” and qualify the other sort - or we wouldn’t have the discussion now about what the lizard meant when he said pie. You just call the other sort from us pie as a generic term. However, I don’t think we use the generic pie as often as you’d suppose. A statement like “I think I’ll bring a pie to the potluck” is inevitably followed by the question “what sort of pie?” because even though the second person assumes it’ll be a fruit pie, the _kind_ begs to be known. People who enjoy prolonged exchanges might choose to phrase it that way, but more succinct people usually cut to the chase and boldly state “I’m thinking of bringing a strawberry-rhubarb pie to the potluck.” Or maybe they wouldn’t, since they’d rather not be lectured on which parts of rhubarb are poisonous and which are eatable… ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2006, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940/67 "2006-02-26T06:10:22Z")
Around my parts in the US, savory pies are synonomous with _Pot Pie_. Otherwise a pie is understood to be a sweet or fruit pie. ---
**Author:** ![Gr8Kat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gr8kat/32/18668_2.png) [@Gr8Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gr8Kat)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2006, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940/68 "2006-02-26T06:23:53Z")
Cheesecake is a custard pie. Ha. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2006, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940/69 "2006-02-26T09:53:28Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > See, this horrid-sounding “cheeseburger pie” 😕, about which pastry is never mentioned, illustrates to me the comprehension disconnect between the Limeys and the Septics on this term. > > Over here, with the exception of shepherd’s and fish pie, for anything to be deemed a “pie”, it _has to be surrounded by pastry_. Sides, bottom, and top. > > That’s what “pie” means. I’m sorry, **jjimm,** but you’re only displaying your own ignorance here, you know. For a start, **Miss Purl McKnittington’s** description of a cheeseburger pie is, _mutatis mutandis,_ nothing more than a cottage pie, so far as I can see. Secondly, we do have any number of variations on pies with a top and no bottom – savoury and sweet. The top can be potato, or shortcrust pastry, flaky pastry, suetcrust pastry, or … well, anything that works. They may not be what you first think of when someone says “pie”, but they’re there, and they’re all pies. ---
**Author:** ![Chanteuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de053/32.png) [@Chanteuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chanteuse)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2006, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940/70 "2006-02-26T13:35:20Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > My mother used to make a dish called ‘beef and kidney ragout’. My father refused to eat it, his comment always being “I’m not eating anything you have to boil the piss out of first.” Dad wasn’t on anyone’s ‘A’ list for classy events. Dammit, you beat me to the joke! 😃 This is how my father used to say kidneys were supposedly prepared (even though we’d never eaten them, but kids are big on bathroom humor and we always thought it was funny!). You can guess how he claimed sausage casings were prepared. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2006, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940/71 "2006-02-26T15:55:24Z")
> [@Celyn](#): > > Somebody mentioned a cheeseburger pie. How is that supposed to work? I mean, if it’s bad for me and has got calories, well, then, it sounds like something I might eat, but … oh well, I get the feeling I’ve been whooshed. No whoosh, just fact [One version](http://southernfood.about.com/od/groundbeefpies/r/bl30524m.htm) (with crust), [and without](http://www.dianaskitchen.com/page/ground/037cheesep.htm) Google has about 351,000 more if you are interested. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2006, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940/72 "2006-02-26T16:17:58Z")
[Impossible Cheeseburger Pie.](http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/Recipe.aspx?recipeId=35487) It’s not something to eat all the time, but every once in a while, it’s yummers. And **jjimm** , if that ain’t a pie, then neither is shepherd’s pie. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2006, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940/73 "2006-02-26T16:29:44Z")
Oh, and at [Recipe Source](http://www.recipe-source.com), there are 972 recipes for dinner pies, and 2342 recipes for dessert pies. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2006, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940/74 "2006-02-26T16:35:46Z")
BTW, **jjim** , “Bisquick” is a brand of baking mix. It has flour, baking soda, etc in it. So when you make the cheeseburger pie, it forms a crust. (At least that’s the theory. I have never made it) ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2006, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940/75 "2006-02-26T16:54:08Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > No whoosh, just fact > [One version](http://southernfood.about.com/od/groundbeefpies/r/bl30524m.htm) (with crust), [and without](http://www.dianaskitchen.com/page/ground/037cheesep.htm) > Google has about 351,000 more if you are interested. 😃 Thing was, you see, that the mental picture it gave me was of someone going to McD’s or wherever, acquiring burger with cheese etc in a roll/bap, THEN somehow thinking "oh , I know, wouldn’t it be clever to take this home and go to the trouble of making pastry and … " yes, silly, but that’s why I thought there had to be a joke there somewhere. Because “burger” to me suggests the item itself, once made out of mince/ground beef … oooh no, my brain will hurt if I think more about it. btw - I had been about to ask about the “Bisquick” stuff, but I see that one has been dealt with. Man, if I ever get to visit the States, I shall be veryunambitious: when hungry and desirious of something to eat, I shall limit my requests to something like “good morning, I should like to buy some food, please. Yes, thank you, food. Look, just sell me somethign I can eat, cos I don’t know any of its names, which are indeed legion”. “No, no no, why did you call for these men who arrive carrying a funy white coat?” :smack: ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2006, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940/76 "2006-02-26T17:30:37Z")
> [@](#): > > Thing was, you see, that the mental picture it gave me was of someone going to McD’s or wherever, acquiring burger with cheese etc in a roll/bap, THEN somehow thinking "oh , I know, wouldn’t it be clever to take this home and go to the trouble of making pastry and Well thank you very much. After reading this post, I found my my tired and cold medicine drugged brain trying to work out the details of creating - Big Mac Wellington\* which has got the be the biggest waste of synapse chemicals ever. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2006, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940/77 "2006-02-26T17:52:12Z")
> [@Celyn](#): > > btw - I had been about to ask about the “Bisquick” stuff, but I see that one has been dealt with. I thought you might not be aware of Bisquick, so I picked a couple of recipies that didn’t use it. > [@](#): > > Man, if I ever get to visit the States, I shall be veryunambitious: when hungry and desirious of something to eat, I shall limit my requests to something like > > “good morning, I should like to buy some food, please. Yes, thank you, food. Look, just sell me somethign I can eat, cos I don’t know any of its names, which are indeed legion”. “No, no no, why did you call for these men who arrive carrying a funy white coat?” :smack: Now stop that! I now have coffee all over my 'puter. You come from the land of haggis and fried everything and you consider cheeseburger pie exotic? :eek: > [@the inventor of haggis](#): > > OK lads I have a great idea, we will take the stomach out of a sheep and fill it up with oatmeal and other things that are better not mentioned, then we will cook and eat it. I have been to many fancy restaurants in my time, but I don’t think I have ever seen a place serves fine Scotish cuisine. This is quite possibly because there is no such thing as fine Scotish cuisine. 😃 The above was written with my toungue firmly in my cheek. It was a joke. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2006, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940/78 "2006-02-26T17:56:59Z")
Yep, I don’t think most people think of cheeseburger pie when someone mentions “American food.” More like apple pie, southern fried chicken, hot dogs, hamburgers, french fries, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2006, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940/79 "2006-02-26T18:09:50Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > Well thank you very much. After reading this post, I found my my tired and cold medicine drugged brain trying to work out the details of creating > > - Big Mac Wellington\* which has got the be the biggest waste of synapse chemicals ever. Eee! Grease and horsemeat pie, with mushrooms. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2006, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940/80 "2006-02-26T18:46:07Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > Now stop that! I now have coffee all over my 'puter. You come from the land of haggis and fried everything and you consider cheeseburger pie exotic? :eek: This American had never heard of cheeseburger pie til reading this thread. Sounds abominable. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940.md?page=5)