# Hen eggs, wheat bread, bee honey and hog sausage **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 3, 2010, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hen-eggs-wheat-bread-bee-honey-and-hog-sausage/559325 "2010-11-03T14:00:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hen-eggs-wheat-bread-bee-honey-and-hog-sausage/559325/1 "2010-11-03T14:00:15Z")
What are your favorite redundant expressions and phrases like these? Can you present examples that make these redundancies more than just lazy language? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hen-eggs-wheat-bread-bee-honey-and-hog-sausage/559325/2 "2010-11-03T14:04:00Z")
“Wheat bread” is not redundant. There’s potato bread, for instance. Also, wheat bread refers to bread made with whole wheat flour, as opposed to white bread (no whole wheat flower) or whole wheat bread (100% whole wheat flour). It’s an important distinction, since wheat bread tastes different from the other two. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hen-eggs-wheat-bread-bee-honey-and-hog-sausage/559325/3 "2010-11-03T14:04:04Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > What are your favorite redundant expressions and phrases like these? > > Can you present examples that make these redundancies more than just lazy language? Why are those necessarily redundant? Except for honey, they seem to me to just be additional info, and even bee honey has similar things that you might say “bee honey” to distinguish it from: Hen eggs instead of duck eggs Wheat bread instead of rye bread Hog sausage instead of turkey sausage Bee honey instead of agave syrup or artificial honey ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hen-eggs-wheat-bread-bee-honey-and-hog-sausage/559325/4 "2010-11-03T14:05:03Z")
Hog sausage isn’t redundant at all. I’ve had excellent sausage from reindeer, elk, moose, deer, cow, chicken, whatever. And what about corn bread? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hen-eggs-wheat-bread-bee-honey-and-hog-sausage/559325/5 "2010-11-03T14:05:53Z")
Give him a break, he posted this at 8:00 o’clock AM in the morning. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hen-eggs-wheat-bread-bee-honey-and-hog-sausage/559325/6 "2010-11-03T14:09:43Z")
Let me phrase it this way, then: Suppose you go into a strange diner or restaurant to get breakfast. Suppose you decide to order sausage, eggs and toast with honey. What are the odds that the waitperson will ask you to specify what kids of those things you want? How often are you asked for clarification? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hen-eggs-wheat-bread-bee-honey-and-hog-sausage/559325/7 "2010-11-03T14:14:17Z")
Definitely would be asked “What type of bread do you want?” Even the lowliest diner would have white, whole wheat and rye. And possibly “pork or turkey sausge?” Most places in these parts keep it on hand for anyone who doesn’t eat pork for religious or dietary reasons. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hen-eggs-wheat-bread-bee-honey-and-hog-sausage/559325/8 "2010-11-03T14:16:57Z")
Tuna fish. What do I win? ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hen-eggs-wheat-bread-bee-honey-and-hog-sausage/559325/9 "2010-11-03T14:20:01Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Let me phrase it this way, then: > > Suppose you go into a strange diner or restaurant to get breakfast. Suppose you decide to order sausage, eggs and toast with honey. What are the odds that the waitperson will ask you to specify what kids of those things you want? How often are you asked for clarification? Why is that the only situation that matters? At a grocery store, especially one with more exotic food options, everything except honey might need clarification. (And I’ll just add that I’ve never heard “bee honey” used, and can only imagine it used to distinguish it from the term of affection. ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hen-eggs-wheat-bread-bee-honey-and-hog-sausage/559325/10 "2010-11-03T14:22:44Z")
Sugar diabetes. Versus the salt or fat kinds? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hen-eggs-wheat-bread-bee-honey-and-hog-sausage/559325/11 "2010-11-03T14:26:36Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Tuna fish. > What do I win? [Tuna](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opuntia), AKA prickly pear. Pushing it? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hen-eggs-wheat-bread-bee-honey-and-hog-sausage/559325/12 "2010-11-03T14:30:09Z")
breastmilk – what made me decide to start this thread ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hen-eggs-wheat-bread-bee-honey-and-hog-sausage/559325/13 "2010-11-03T14:30:46Z")
Shrimp scampi? ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hen-eggs-wheat-bread-bee-honey-and-hog-sausage/559325/14 "2010-11-03T14:46:41Z")
“Hot Water Heater” I hear this one all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hen-eggs-wheat-bread-bee-honey-and-hog-sausage/559325/15 "2010-11-03T14:54:35Z")
Foot pedal. Makes me want to take a bashing hammer to someone’s head skull. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hen-eggs-wheat-bread-bee-honey-and-hog-sausage/559325/16 "2010-11-03T14:54:51Z")
> [@VunderBob](#): > > Sugar diabetes. Versus the salt or fat kinds? No, the kidneys kind. [Diabetes insipidus - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diabetes_insipidus) (Although I’ll admit I’ve never heard the phrase “sugar diabetes”, and diabetes insipidus isn’t widely known by laypeople. I’m just being a smartass.) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hen-eggs-wheat-bread-bee-honey-and-hog-sausage/559325/17 "2010-11-03T14:56:55Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > Shrimp scampi? It’s not really redundant in English. Although “scampi” is the plural of lobster in Italian, as an English word it usually refers to the style of cooking. (However, it is sometimes used to refer to shrimp in a faux-Italian menu. The actual Italian for shrimp is _gamberi_.) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hen-eggs-wheat-bread-bee-honey-and-hog-sausage/559325/18 "2010-11-03T14:58:10Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > breastmilk – what made me decide to start this thread Not exactly redundant, since most of the milk we drink comes from udders rather than breasts. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hen-eggs-wheat-bread-bee-honey-and-hog-sausage/559325/19 "2010-11-03T15:09:30Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > And I’ll just add that I’ve never heard “bee honey” used, and can only imagine it used to distinguish it from the term of affection. Me neither. I’ve also never heard of hog sausage, though I’ve heard of pork sausage. ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hen-eggs-wheat-bread-bee-honey-and-hog-sausage/559325/20 "2010-11-03T15:14:11Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > No, the kidneys kind. [Diabetes insipidus - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diabetes_insipidus) > > (Although I’ll admit I’ve never heard the phrase “sugar diabetes”, and diabetes insipidus isn’t widely known by laypeople. I’m just being a smartass.) “Sugar diabetes” is a Southernism, and I hear it all the time. It goes hand in hand with “The” as part of the name of a malady, is in “He has the lung cancer”. It gets really annoying to my grammarian alter ego when someone refers to diabetes mellitus as “the sugar”. :rolleyes: 😉 I will also second **Colibri** ’s assertion that scampi in English denotes the style of cooking. I’ve ordered scallops scampi before in a seafood bar. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hen-eggs-wheat-bread-bee-honey-and-hog-sausage/559325.md?page=2)