Well, no. They’re equally right. (I happen to be on the “open faced sandwich is a sandwich” side of things, actually.) The usage in this thread is quite evenly split.
I note that the peanut butter cups are not listed in the wikipedia category of candy bar. Those on the candy bar side might want to get on that.
Reese’s whips are though.
Interestingly, Rolo is listed. If Rolo counts, then Reese’s Cups should count. Meanwhile, Peppermint Patties are not listed. If Rolos count, then those should, too, I’d think.
Non-awareness does not mean non-existence. :dubious:
A fruit is plant material arising from a fertilized reproductive organ.
A vegetable is plant material arising from developmental growth.
Therefore, an edible flower (e.g. artichoke) is a vegetable, but a tomato, squash, cucumber, or other thing coming from a fertilized flower, is a fruit.
Rule of thumb: if it normally has a seed, it’s a fruit. Otherwise it’s a vegetable.
Trivia question: many fruits are treated as vegetables. As far as I recall, only one vegetable is used as a fruit. Can you name it? 
Rhubarb? But I use that both as fruit and vegetable. Anyhow, for most purposes, “vegetable” simply means plant matter that is treated like a vegetable culinarily, even if it is technically a fruit. The definition of vegetable usually includes types of fruit.
You’re probably referring to rhubarb, but strawberry and hibiscus would also fit the bill.
We circle back to that questions about where Almond Joys, Mounds and 100 Thousand Bars fir in your definition, then, since they are also two to a pack.
Those are pretty much the exact center of the “candy bar” vs “not a candy bar” continuum for me. I would functionally just barely put them on the candy bar side of the aisle, as I am able to eat them like I would eat a candy bar, but I can’t do that to a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. When I personally ask for a candy bar, I’m usually looking for this sort of convenience. If I ask for a Reese’s candy bar, I expect one of those Reese’s candy bars, not a peanut butter cup. But now that I know there’s much more ambiguity to the definition, I will keep in mind that others use the term much more loosely. I am honestly surprised by this, but I am happy to go along with public opinion that shows they are commonly thought of as candy bars.
So, we got that answered. Now where do the Ferraro Rochers, Mon Cheris, Rolos, and other similar substances sold in the candy bar aisle fall on the spectrum? I’m curious where the other side’s mid-point in the candy bar vs non-candy bar definition is. This is a sincere question, not a gotcha, or anything like that. I’m curious about word usage, and this poll has been surprising to me, so I am trying to learn something.
Almond Joys, Mounds and 100 Grands are candy bars. As for Rolo, candy bar, candy. ferraro rochers are chocolates as are mon cheris.
I’m of the same mind.
How are those candies sold? In a bag, or larger box? Are they sold in a single serving format at the same price point as other candy bars? If I go to the grocery store and look at the candy bar selection at the check out, will I see a single serving pack of ferraro roches, or mon cheris? No, they are usually by the premium candies and the fanny may and whitman’s boxes of chocolates, so no, they seem pretty clearly differentiated from candy bars to me. I actually think rolo is a candy bar though, I mean its literally candy sold in a shape of a bar, at the check out, in a single serving about the same price as every other candy bar. Maybe the single serving, and the price point considerations may help illuminate some difference here between reese’s cups and the examples you are presenting.
Yeah, the Rolo is an interesting one to me. I don’t think of it as a candy bar, myself, as it doesn’t really lend itself to candy bar-like eating. Just like I wouldn’t think if I stacked four Mon Cheris into narrow, rectangular packaging that they would constitute a “candy bar,” either. But it looks like the working definition for about half the population is if it’s packaged like a candy bar, it doesn’t matter whether it is composed of many individual units or one cohesive bar unit, it’s a candy bar.
I approve of that. For those who are just collecting people’s intuitive assignments - -
I consider a 2-pack of Reese’s cups to be a candy bar, but a 1-pack isn’t unless it’s being giving away as Halloween candy. Don’t ask me why. This isn’t something I analyzed and decided, it’s a reaction.
A peppermint stick is not a candy bar. In fact, nothing that rigid is. Candy bars can break under certain circumstances but must also be able to bend in other circumstances.
Mounds or Almond Joys are candy bars. Peppermint Patties are not. Neither are Rolos. Although in fairness to anyone who lists Rolos as candy bars, they usually come out of the pack stuck together like a bar.
That said, if I told a child that they could pick out a candy bar, I would not kick up a fuss if they chose a bag of M&Ms. If I told a vending machine operator to put candy bars in her machine, I would not oppose packets of Starburst candy, I just wouldn’t ever eat them.
Oh, and the stuff in a Reese’s cup is candy. It started out as peanut butter, but got sugar and other things added to it. It is not longer suitable for use in a PB&J.
Once we’ve thoroughly discussed other candy-related things we can ask how many candy bars it takes to make a pile. And is a heap of candy bars bigger than a pile of them?
I think that’s the sticking point. If my friend Jane is visiting and feeling peckish, asks if I have a candy bar, I’m not going to open the cupboard and see a 2-pack of reeses cups, close and say, Nope, no candy bars here.
Well, I voted that Reese’s are candy bars. But in your scenario, I would do just that, because I want those damned Reese’s all to myself.
Strawberries are fruits - odd ones, granted, since they are sort of “inside-out” - but they do have seeds. That’s what those freckles on the outside are.
Hibiscus or jamaica is only used as a tea that I know of, rather than being eaten itself, which was sort of the underlying criterion.
Rhubarb was what I had in mind, so congrats to you and others.
I’ll grant your point that the connotation (common meaning) of vegetable and fruit divides on use and sweetness, but the denotation (technical meaning) is as I stated.
I tend not to belabor the difference myself, but the question began with definitions.
Almost as bad as defining what the difference is between soup and stew to someone learning English as a second language:
Consider - Diced potatoes simmered in seasoned milk is “potato soup.”
Add oysters, and it’s “oyster stew.”
Add clams (or other seafood) instead, and it’s “clam (…) chowder.”
Gets a bit schizophrenic. :smack:
IF it’s no trouble, I’ll have the bisque.
Sure, I wouldn’t get pedantic about that in that context, either. I might say “Are Reese’s okay?” if I’m unsure, but, then I’d also count in other confectionaries that are not strictly candy bars, like, say, granola bars, or individual serving size candies, truffles, etc.
But there really isn’t any botanical (which is what I assume you mean by “technical”) definition of “vegetable” as far as I know. It’s not a botanical term. Feel free to look in a dictionary. Here’s one, for instance. Or here. Or here. None of the definitions here exclude fruit, and that’s just picking the most common online dictionaries.
(And “connotation” doesn’t really mean “common meaning.” It’s the feelings a word or phrase invokes.)