# I Hate the Word "Veggies" **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 2, 2011, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-word-veggies/576986 "2011-04-02T23:42:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2011, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-word-veggies/576986/241 "2011-04-17T01:15:41Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > I ordered one of those once and was given some kind of patty made of compressed vegetable matter. Then someone goofed. That would be the Garden Burger, not the Veggie Delight. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2011, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-word-veggies/576986/242 "2011-04-17T01:21:26Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > I’m sure they did, but only now are we creating data collections like [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwgkT34g61w), (MIT’s Deb Roy’s documentation of his own son’s language acquisition). Adjusted tones? Maybe. Coochie woochie bee bee? ehh… ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2011, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-word-veggies/576986/243 "2011-04-17T01:47:13Z")
> [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](#): > > I just have to ask. What is your definition of word that omits veggie? Veggie has meaning that’s mutually understood by most English speakers, in what sense is it not a word? > > I’m really curious. In the sense that I refuse to say it. > [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > Then someone goofed. That would be the Garden Burger, not the Veggie Delight. I’ll have to check the menu next time to see if those are on there, but even if they are, it doesn’t mean they have them. As I said, this is kind of a weird Subway. It’s kind of a Subway outlet. They have all kinds of signs that say they don’t participate in whatever promotion is currently on TV; they have signs for soup but they don’t actually have soup; they’re always out of something that some other customer is asking for. I’ve tried asking for “all vegetables except peppers,” but I always end up saying it at least three times because they’re like automatons. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2011, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-word-veggies/576986/244 "2011-04-17T02:05:15Z")
As a nurse, my standard phrase when handing a patient a urine specimen cup is “please fill this cup with urine.” however, based on my knowledge of a specific patient I might say “please pee/wet in/fill this with kidney-water” It’s all about code-switching to meet the patient at his comfort level of conversation. I’ve asked patients if they have had any problems emptying their bladder only to be met with a blank stare. I’m guilty of using “meds” for medications or medicines, for sure. "Have you taken your blood pressure meds? May I see all of your meds? Do you put your meds in a planner or does your daughter do that? What are your home meds? I think it’s perfectly fine. Hubby is an awful word, as is the whole DH,DD, etc. system. Veggie is fine, sammie is a capital offense. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2011, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-word-veggies/576986/245 "2011-04-17T02:19:35Z")
What, no one has anything to say about ‘jammies’? mmm ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2011, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-word-veggies/576986/246 "2011-04-17T02:41:31Z")
> [@CitizenPained](#): > > Adjusted tones? Maybe. Well, yeah, that’s what we’ve been talking about since post #208 with regard to the language acquisition issue–or rather, adjusted _enunciation_. The “coochie woochie bee bee” is simply gratuitous, or perhaps an important channel of affect, but I personally don’t think it plays a big part in native competency. (And I have doubts if it could even help with reading development, since it’s purely oral.) Besides, as far as I can tell, words like “veggies” are NOT part of baby talk for babies (though they may be used by adults with children who are _already_ speaking). Choosing to say the word “veggie” over the word “vegetable” is like saying “power lunch” over “lunch”–you’re referring to the same thing as before, but you think you’re giving it some kind of new significance by simply changing the word. If you eat “vegetables” you’re just eating food, but if you eat “veggies,” you’re now suddenly being healthy because you’re eating some kind of special thing. That’s why it’s a stupid word. We don’t need to use this word to be healthy. (Though the diminutive form only makes it worse.) “Foodie” is just as bad for similar reasons. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2011, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-word-veggies/576986/247 "2011-04-17T09:07:17Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Well, yeah, that’s what we’ve been talking about since post #208 with regard to the language acquisition issue–or rather, adjusted _enunciation_. The “coochie woochie bee bee” is simply gratuitous, or perhaps an important channel of affect, but I personally don’t think it plays a big part in native competency. (And I have doubts if it could even help with reading development, since it’s purely oral.). I can use an adjusted tone to talk to a neurologically underdeveloped infant, but I don’t have to use a high pitched voice. I talked softly to my son quite often – there was just no…screetch involved. No eety beety boo boos, either. I said the same about reading development…anyway…I can’t see 19th C parents talking to children like they were 21st century puppies, made up words or no. ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2011, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-word-veggies/576986/248 "2011-04-17T11:39:40Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > In the sense that I refuse to say it. That doesn’t make it not a word. It just makes it a word you refuse to say. Claiming there’s no such word just makes you look like an ignorant fool. > [@guizot](#): > > Choosing to say the word “veggie” over the word “vegetable” is like saying “power lunch” over “lunch”–you’re referring to the same thing as before, but you think you’re giving it some kind of new significance by simply changing the word. If you eat “vegetables” you’re just eating food, but if you eat “veggies,” you’re now suddenly being healthy because you’re eating some kind of special thing. > > That’s why it’s a stupid word. We don’t need to use this word to be healthy. > (Though the diminutive form only makes it worse.) You are so full of shit it’s coming out of your ears. That is absolute fucking numpty bollocks. “Veggies” are not implied to be any more healthy than “vegetables”. “Veggies” is verbal shorthand. Some dialects are less formalised than others, and contraction/shortening of words is just standard. If you say “Veggies” nobody’s going “Oh, wow, she must be really healthy she said veggies!”. It is a contraction, that’s all it is. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2011, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-word-veggies/576986/249 "2011-04-17T15:10:32Z")
> [@Sierra\_Indigo](#): > > You are so full of shit it’s coming out of your ears. That is absolute fucking numpty bollocks. “Veggies” are not implied to be any more healthy than “vegetables”. “Veggies” is verbal shorthand. Some dialects are less formalised than others, and contraction/shortening of words is just standard. If you say “Veggies” nobody’s going “Oh, wow, she must be really healthy she said veggies!”. It is a contraction, that’s all it is. It seems like something more than a contraction to me. I don’t think it is used as much in singular form. (“Cauliflower is my favorite veggie.”), and I think that’s because _veggies_ turns all vegetables into some undifferentiated healthful substance. Vegetables is a category. Veggies is an endorsement. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2011, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-word-veggies/576986/250 "2011-04-17T15:49:51Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Choosing to say the word “veggie” over the word “vegetable” is like saying “power lunch” over “lunch”–you’re referring to the same thing as before, but you think you’re giving it some kind of new significance by simply changing the word. If you eat “vegetables” you’re just eating food, but if you eat “veggies,” you’re now suddenly being healthy because you’re eating some kind of special thing. Some people do this; some people just think it’s cute. My boss goes on “power walks,” and I’m certain that they are no different from the walks I take with my dogs. She calls them this so I will know how powerful and vital and bursting with health and superior to me she is. > [@Sierra\_Indigo](#): > > That doesn’t make it not a word. It just makes it a word you refuse to say. Claiming there’s no such word just makes you look like an ignorant fool. I’m not an ignorant fool, but I agree that it’s just something I refuse to say because it irks me. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2011, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-word-veggies/576986/251 "2011-04-17T18:45:30Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > Some people do this; some people just think it’s cute. My boss goes on “power walks,” and I’m certain that they are no different from the walks I take with my dogs. She calls them this so I will know how powerful and vital and bursting with health and superior to me she is. I’d disagree. A “power walk”, I’d guess, is where you walk with the purpose of getting your heart rate up for health purposes, as opposed to just taking a stroll. Not sure exactly what a “power lunch” is, though. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2011, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-word-veggies/576986/252 "2011-04-17T19:18:30Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > I’d disagree. A “power walk”, I’d guess, is where you walk with the purpose of getting your heart rate up for health purposes, as opposed to just taking a stroll. > > Not sure exactly what a “power lunch” is, though. If it’s like a power nap, it’s very welcome. ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2011, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-word-veggies/576986/253 "2011-04-17T20:06:47Z")
> [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > It seems like something more than a contraction to me. I don’t think it is used as much in singular form. (“Cauliflower is my favorite veggie.”), and I think that’s because _veggies_ turns all vegetables into some undifferentiated healthful substance. > > Vegetables is a category. Veggies is an endorsement. Nope, fail again. Veggie is used as much in its singular form as it is the pluralised form. Examples of sentences used every fucking day around here, with no overarching agenda: “What’s your favourite veggie?” “I don’t like veggies” “Hmm, we need some veggies with this meal, it’s all meat” “I’ll have a veggie quiche” “Blech, cabbage is the worst veggie in the world” “Veggies is just used by people trying to sound uber-healthy” is a load of fucking hairy bollocks sprouted by people reaching for a justification to explain something they don’t like because they don’t have the fucking stones to just say “It irks me for no good reason” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2011, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-word-veggies/576986/254 "2011-04-17T21:34:18Z")
Now putting mayo in my food irks for the good reason it’s nasty and the fact no civilized person would ever use it. Ever. All I’m saying is when I’m at subway, and someone orders mayo, I know who will be a part of the cannibalistic looting gangs when society fails. ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2011, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-word-veggies/576986/255 "2011-04-17T22:15:31Z")
> [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](#): > > Now putting mayo in my food irks for the good reason it’s nasty and the fact no civilized person would ever use it. Ever. > > All I’m saying is when I’m at subway, and someone orders mayo, I know who will be a part of the cannibalistic looting gangs when society fails. It’s a little-known fact that the primtiveness of a culture can be measured by how much mayo they use in day-to-day life I’m going to be a cannibalistic looter when society falls? Neat! ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2011, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-word-veggies/576986/256 "2011-04-17T22:33:16Z")
> [@Sierra\_Indigo](#): > > It’s a little-known fact that the primtiveness of a culture can be measured by how much mayo they use in day-to-day life > > I’m going to be a cannibalistic looter when society falls? Neat! Crap. That’s a -2 for Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2011, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-word-veggies/576986/257 "2011-04-17T22:41:26Z")
> [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](#): > > Now putting mayo in my food irks for the good reason it’s nasty and the fact no civilized person would ever use it. Ever. > > All I’m saying is when I’m at subway, and someone orders mayo, I know who will be a part of the cannibalistic looting gangs when society fails. > [@Sierra\_Indigo](#): > > It’s a little-known fact that the primtiveness of a culture can be measured by how much mayo they use in day-to-day life > > I’m going to be a cannibalistic looter when society falls? Neat! But … but … mayonnaise is _French_! I thought everything about French cuisine was supposed to be _good_! That said, it irks me to no end when people pronounce it “MANaise”. For much the same reason I’m irked when I hear somebody buying a pack of cigarettes asking the clerk for a pack of “Marbs”. ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2011, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-word-veggies/576986/258 "2011-04-17T22:44:02Z")
I actually love mayo. I’m practically a cannibal caveperson already! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2011, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-word-veggies/576986/259 "2011-04-17T23:09:55Z")
> [@Sierra\_Indigo](#): > > I actually love mayo. I’m practically a cannibal caveperson already! Knowing is half the battle. ---
**Author:** ![NGC2024](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f475e1/32.png) [@NGC2024](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NGC2024)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2011, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-word-veggies/576986/260 "2011-04-17T23:11:12Z")
Doesn’t anyone else abhor the “word” tummy? God, typing that hurt. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-word-veggies/576986.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-the-word-veggies/576986.md?page=14)