# If I told you we're having dressing at Thanksgiving, what would you think? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 22, 2006, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-told-you-were-having-dressing-at-thanksgiving-what-would-you-think/381485 "2006-11-22T23:08:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-told-you-were-having-dressing-at-thanksgiving-what-would-you-think/381485/1 "2006-11-22T23:08:15Z")
I just was talking to a couple people who, when I mentioned we’d be having lots of dressing come Thanksgiving, didn’t know I was talking about stuffing. They were like “Ohh, so you thinking of making up a lot of salad?” I had to explain to them that, while dressing was also something you put on salad, there was another type of dressing that was another word for stuffing. I dunno, is this a regional thing? I always grew up hearing both. To me, stuffing always equaled dressing and vica versa. I always figured they were the same other than stuffing being made inside turkey and dressing outside. What say you? You ever hear stuffing refered to as dressing? ---
**Author:** ![FormerMarineGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/65b543/32.png) [@FormerMarineGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FormerMarineGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-told-you-were-having-dressing-at-thanksgiving-what-would-you-think/381485/2 "2006-11-22T23:11:11Z")
Always called it stuffing. But I have heard of some people calling it dressing and even forcemeat. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-told-you-were-having-dressing-at-thanksgiving-what-would-you-think/381485/3 "2006-11-22T23:11:24Z")
I would think of salad dressing. Not stuffing. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-told-you-were-having-dressing-at-thanksgiving-what-would-you-think/381485/4 "2006-11-22T23:13:10Z")
If I knew you were talking about Thanksgiving dinner I would assume stuffing. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-told-you-were-having-dressing-at-thanksgiving-what-would-you-think/381485/5 "2006-11-22T23:14:14Z")
I would know what you are referring to. ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-told-you-were-having-dressing-at-thanksgiving-what-would-you-think/381485/6 "2006-11-22T23:14:22Z")
I’d think you were weird–but I’d know you meant stuffing. I know plenty of weird folk–I think my mother might even be one. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-told-you-were-having-dressing-at-thanksgiving-what-would-you-think/381485/7 "2006-11-22T23:16:25Z")
I always call it stuffing, but having heard people call it dressing (especially at Thanksgiving) I would know exactly what they meant. ---
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-told-you-were-having-dressing-at-thanksgiving-what-would-you-think/381485/8 "2006-11-22T23:18:19Z")
I don’t use the term myself, but I’d know what you were talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-told-you-were-having-dressing-at-thanksgiving-what-would-you-think/381485/9 "2006-11-22T23:31:23Z")
How odd. I’ve always heard both terms used wherever I went. It’s just one of those things you start thinking everyone knows, I guess, and you laugh nervously a bit while saying “you’re joking right?” when you find out they don’t know about it. And then you realize you’ve been the sheltered one, in a way. : p Just for thinking everyone would know the terms and stuff people use for foods and things. ---
**Author:** ![Scribble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scribble/32/3317_2.png) [@Scribble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scribble)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-told-you-were-having-dressing-at-thanksgiving-what-would-you-think/381485/10 "2006-11-22T23:34:33Z")
I wouldn’t have a clue what you were talking about. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-told-you-were-having-dressing-at-thanksgiving-what-would-you-think/381485/11 "2006-11-22T23:38:32Z")
I suspect this comes from an old phrase like “dressing” the turkey or something like that. A Turey with all the fixins would be fully “dressed”. Course I might be wrong Let’s see… I’m probably wrong: [http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin\_board/26/messages/635.html](http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/26/messages/635.html) ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-told-you-were-having-dressing-at-thanksgiving-what-would-you-think/381485/12 "2006-11-22T23:45:42Z")
Wasn’t the word stuffing considered vulgar at one point, so people began using the word dressing to be genteel? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-told-you-were-having-dressing-at-thanksgiving-what-would-you-think/381485/13 "2006-11-23T00:24:49Z")
If you said “turkey and dressing”, I would know what you meant. But if you didn’t establish the turkey context-- “Take that dressing there and put it on the table”-- I would look for the liquid stuff that goes on salads. No one I know personally has ever called it anything but “stuffing.” ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-told-you-were-having-dressing-at-thanksgiving-what-would-you-think/381485/14 "2006-11-23T00:28:16Z")
I would think you were from the south. The only person I’ve ever known who used the word dressing instead of stuffing was originally from Alabama. I’m from the NYC/NJ area if that helps. ---
**Author:** ![lokij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5e9695/32.png) [@lokij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lokij)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-told-you-were-having-dressing-at-thanksgiving-what-would-you-think/381485/15 "2006-11-23T00:39:21Z")
I would know precisely what you meant, and I would assume you meant cornbread dressing too. It’s a southern thing as far as I know. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-told-you-were-having-dressing-at-thanksgiving-what-would-you-think/381485/16 "2006-11-23T00:45:17Z")
Stuffing is cooked inside the bird. Dressing is cooked separately. But yeah, same thing. ---
**Author:** ![RhapsodyInBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RhapsodyInBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RhapsodyInBlue)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-told-you-were-having-dressing-at-thanksgiving-what-would-you-think/381485/17 "2006-11-23T00:48:24Z")
My family is from the northeast and we used the terms equally. However, when I moved to the south I was told that “stuffing” is cooked inside the bird, while “dressing” is similar but made in a pan on stove. So, here you have the savory onion/thyme stuffing inside the turkey, but also pans of cornbread or oyster dressing. Whatever you call it, it’s my favorite part of the dinner! ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-told-you-were-having-dressing-at-thanksgiving-what-would-you-think/381485/18 "2006-11-23T00:53:47Z")
I would assume that you had previously celebrated your Thanksgiving Dinners in the nude. What? ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-told-you-were-having-dressing-at-thanksgiving-what-would-you-think/381485/19 "2006-11-23T02:10:45Z")
[QUOTE=Chefguy] Stuffing is cooked inside the bird. Dressing is cooked separately. But yeah, same thing. [/QUOTE] Ditto. And I would know what you meant. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-told-you-were-having-dressing-at-thanksgiving-what-would-you-think/381485/20 "2006-11-23T02:20:40Z")
I wouldn’t take it as stuffing, but perhaps a way to say all the usually foods, or some sort of turkey sauce. And someone saying we’ll have lots of dressing seems weird, you should have enough stuffing for the people you are serving, I don’t see the reason to say we’ll have ‘lots’ of it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-told-you-were-having-dressing-at-thanksgiving-what-would-you-think/381485.md?page=2)