# Is tuna (ham/egg/chicken...) salad a "salad"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [April 4, 2024, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tuna-ham-egg-chicken-salad-a-salad/999807 "2024-04-04T02:52:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2024, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tuna-ham-egg-chicken-salad-a-salad/999807/21 "2024-04-04T13:53:11Z")
> [@TRC4941](#): > > Here in the northern midwest we have lots of different Jell-O salads. I have heard of some horrendous ones with peas, carrots, cabbage, cottage cheese, etc. but the ones we have for get togethers always are made with Jell-O, fruit, and Cool Whip. Of course, Jello Salad! Where would the 50s have been without it? ---
**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:** [April 4, 2024, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tuna-ham-egg-chicken-salad-a-salad/999807/22 "2024-04-04T14:04:59Z")
Nice word salad. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2024, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tuna-ham-egg-chicken-salad-a-salad/999807/23 "2024-04-04T14:07:10Z")
A noun phrase composed of an adjective and a noun is not always an instance of that noun. A mixture of cold chopped chicken and mayonnaise, and nothing else, is still chicken salad, but chicken salad is not a salad (not even if it includes onion and celery). ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2024, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tuna-ham-egg-chicken-salad-a-salad/999807/24 "2024-04-04T14:09:23Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > but chicken salad is not a salad Why not? An adjective and a noun is not always an instance of that noun, but it could be. So why doesn’t chicken salad qualify? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2024, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tuna-ham-egg-chicken-salad-a-salad/999807/25 "2024-04-04T15:15:39Z")
Because a “salad”, without any qualifiers, is a cold dish that consists primarily of solid vegetables, and chicken salad isn’t that. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2024, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tuna-ham-egg-chicken-salad-a-salad/999807/26 "2024-04-04T15:15:57Z")
See also: > [@Fawlty Towers: Spanish Omelettes and Cheese Salads](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fawlty-towers-spanish-omelettes-and-cheese-salads/714292): > > These are questions that have been nagging at me for years, based on the Fawlty Towers episode “The Hotel Inspectors.” When Mr. Hutchinson—the guest with an oddly formal and elaborate manner of speaking and slightly odd requests that Basil finds extremely irritating—orders his meal, he first asks for a Spanish omelette. He eventually rejects the Spanish omelette because the kitchen uses frozen peas instead of fresh peas. What I know as a Spanish omelette is a type of [egg-and-potato frittata](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_omelette). … ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2024, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tuna-ham-egg-chicken-salad-a-salad/999807/27 "2024-04-04T15:48:09Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Because a “salad”, without any qualifiers, is a cold dish that consists primarily of solid vegetables, and chicken salad isn’t that. According to [Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/salad#:~:text=sal%C2%B7%E2%80%8Bad%20%CB%88sal%2D%C9%99d,usually%20prepared%20with%20a%20dressing): > [@](#): > > # salad > > ## [noun](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/noun) > > sal·​ad [ˈsa-ləd](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/salad?pronunciation&lang=en_us&dir=s&file=salad001) > > [Synonyms of _salad_](https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/salad) > > 1 **:** any of various usually cold dishes: such as > > a **:** raw greens (such as lettuce) often combined with other vegetables and toppings and served especially with dressing > > b **:** small pieces of food (such as pasta, meat, fruit, or vegetables) usually mixed with a dressing (such as mayonnaise) or set in gelatin ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2024, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tuna-ham-egg-chicken-salad-a-salad/999807/28 "2024-04-04T15:58:30Z")
Put it this way: If I’m at a big picnic with my mom, and I ask her if I can get her any food and she says “Just some salad, please”, she’ll probably be satisfied if I bring back caprese or cole slaw or cucumbers with sour cream, but probably not if I bring back pasta salad or tuna salad. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2024, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tuna-ham-egg-chicken-salad-a-salad/999807/29 "2024-04-04T16:02:56Z")
Do 'pudding" next! ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2024, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tuna-ham-egg-chicken-salad-a-salad/999807/30 "2024-04-04T16:11:53Z")
Ya can’t have any pudding until you’ve finished your meat! ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2024, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tuna-ham-egg-chicken-salad-a-salad/999807/31 "2024-04-04T16:28:26Z")
Made with green jello we called it Slime Salad. I used to make it for the kids on Halloween and St. Pats day. Yeah, they hated it. 🤢 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2024, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tuna-ham-egg-chicken-salad-a-salad/999807/32 "2024-04-04T18:42:28Z")
“A chicken salad” is leafy veggies with chicken as a component. “Chicken salad” is chunks of chicken mixed with a binder. The former falls into the category of what we mean by “salad.” The latter doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2024, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tuna-ham-egg-chicken-salad-a-salad/999807/33 "2024-04-04T18:46:33Z")
I would say the most basic definition of “salad” is cold ingredients mixed with a dressing. By that definition, cold chicken/tuna/egg/etc mixed with mayo counts as a salad in my book. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2024, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tuna-ham-egg-chicken-salad-a-salad/999807/34 "2024-04-04T21:04:12Z")
Then there’s [Solid Potato Salad](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1J3NLNWAPU), although I don’t know how the dance number relates to food. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2024, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tuna-ham-egg-chicken-salad-a-salad/999807/35 "2024-04-04T21:19:15Z")
I’d rather have [Brain Salad Surgery](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WTLsNRpxcuk). ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2024, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tuna-ham-egg-chicken-salad-a-salad/999807/36 "2024-04-05T00:02:03Z")
A salad is whatever I say it is. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2024, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tuna-ham-egg-chicken-salad-a-salad/999807/37 "2024-04-05T09:45:10Z")
This is a lot easier in medieval cooking, where it’s only a _sallet_ if it has fresh herbs, at least. This is still the sense in Shakespeare’s time (see: ‘salad days’, the time when you’re still green). Still, time marches on, and I think the broader sense is fine. I love three-bean salad, for example. ---
**Author:** ![vbob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vbob/32/4439_2.png) [@vbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vbob)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2024, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tuna-ham-egg-chicken-salad-a-salad/999807/38 "2024-04-05T09:55:43Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Is not a sandwich. In my book, any day when dinner is not a sandwich is one of my salad days. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2024, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tuna-ham-egg-chicken-salad-a-salad/999807/39 "2024-04-05T13:05:56Z")
Because there are dictionary definitions and then there is usage. If I’m talking about ordering a six foot hero “and salads” , those salads are going to be potato salad, macaroni salad and coleslaw. If I go to a diner and order a burger, and I can pay $3 extra to substitute a “salad” for fries, it’s going to be some sort of green salad , not macaroni or potato salad. And with no other context , “salad” means some sort of green salad. No one says “I’m going to have a salad at dinner” and means chicken salad. I mean, you could argue that “pasta salad” and “macaroni salad” refer to the same food - but no one uses the phrases interchangeably. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2024, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tuna-ham-egg-chicken-salad-a-salad/999807/40 "2024-04-05T13:27:29Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Why not? An adjective and a noun is not always an instance of that noun, but it could be. So why doesn’t chicken salad qualify? Because Tom Colicchio hates it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-tuna-ham-egg-chicken-salad-a-salad/999807.md?page=1)