# Toronto Maple Leaf Parmagiana Topped with Parmasan Cheese - English questions **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 2, 2002, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toronto-maple-leaf-parmagiana-topped-with-parmasan-cheese-english-questions/106855 "2002-05-02T14:18:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2002, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toronto-maple-leaf-parmagiana-topped-with-parmasan-cheese-english-questions/106855/1 "2002-05-02T14:18:05Z")
Toronto Maple LeaFS? I always thought it was 1 maple leaf and 2 maple leaVES. Or is it just because of screwy Canadian English? Also, is “parmesan” cheese pronounced the same as chicken “parmagiana”? My Italian pizza guy says that they’re the same pronunciation. Other Italians I know state the opposite. ---
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2002, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toronto-maple-leaf-parmagiana-topped-with-parmasan-cheese-english-questions/106855/2 "2002-05-02T14:31:09Z")
There is no such word as “parmesan” in Italian. The word is “Parmagiana” and the two words are not pronounced the same in English. Perhaps your pizza guy is thinking of “parmesan cheese” and Chicken Parmesan. Then they are pronounced the same, but “parmesan” is an English word, not Italian. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2002, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toronto-maple-leaf-parmagiana-topped-with-parmasan-cheese-english-questions/106855/3 "2002-05-02T14:39:10Z")
parmagianna vesus parmesana: Italiano will say “Parmagian” either way. Parmagiana does not refer to the cheese, but a style. Like Riccota to me is “Ri-gut” ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2002, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toronto-maple-leaf-parmagiana-topped-with-parmasan-cheese-english-questions/106855/4 "2002-05-02T15:37:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jackknifed Juggernaut \* > \*\*Toronto Maple LeaFS? I always thought it was 1 maple leaf and 2 maple leaVES. Or is it just because of screwy Canadian English? > \*\* The team sweater has ONE LEAF on it. If the sweater had 2 or 3 then your claim that they should be called the Maple Leaves would have merit. ---
**Author:** ![wooba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/aeb1de/32.png) [@wooba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wooba)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2002, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toronto-maple-leaf-parmagiana-topped-with-parmasan-cheese-english-questions/106855/5 "2002-05-02T15:52:12Z")
Actually, the sweater has 3 leaves… one on the front and one on each arm… Also, the team name refers to the players does it not? Multiple players, or “leafs” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2002, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toronto-maple-leaf-parmagiana-topped-with-parmasan-cheese-english-questions/106855/6 "2002-05-02T15:52:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by adam yax \* > \*\* > > The team sweater has ONE LEAF on it. If the sweater had 2 or 3 then your claim that they should be called the Maple Leaves would have merit. \*\* I think that your statement implies that the team name should be the Toronto Maple Leaf (singular). It still doesn’t explain why they are called the Maple Leafs (plural) when the plural of “leaf” is “leaves”. ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2002, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toronto-maple-leaf-parmagiana-topped-with-parmasan-cheese-english-questions/106855/7 "2002-05-02T15:59:48Z")
The name _Toronto Maple Leafs_ is written that way because that’s the way the people who named the team wanted it. Each player is a Toronto Maple Leaf; therefore, the plural is Toronto Maple Leafs. And is **GQ** really the right place for stupid insults? ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2002, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toronto-maple-leaf-parmagiana-topped-with-parmasan-cheese-english-questions/106855/8 "2002-05-02T16:18:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cerowyn \* > \*\*And is **GQ** really the right place for stupid insults? \*\* I apologize. I really didn’t mean for it to be an insult. But you have to admit, it’s a little silly to have a grammatical/usage error as your team name. Of course, in baseball we have the Red Sox and White Sox. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2002, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toronto-maple-leaf-parmagiana-topped-with-parmasan-cheese-english-questions/106855/9 "2002-05-02T16:22:46Z")
Where is the stupid insult? 😕 And isn’t it insulting to call somebody’s insult stupid? ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2002, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toronto-maple-leaf-parmagiana-topped-with-parmasan-cheese-english-questions/106855/10 "2002-05-02T17:36:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Attrayant \* > **Where is the stupid insult? 😕** “screwy Canadian English” > [@](#): > > \*\*And isn’t it insulting to call somebody’s insult stupid? \*\* No. Calling **Jackknifed** stupid would have been an insult (and not at all what I intended). His comment was insulting and inappropriate for this forum. ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2002, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toronto-maple-leaf-parmagiana-topped-with-parmasan-cheese-english-questions/106855/11 "2002-05-02T17:53:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jackknifed Juggernaut \* > **I apologize. I really didn’t mean for it to be an insult. But you have to admit, it’s a little silly to have a grammatical/usage error as your team name.** Thanks for clarifying your intent, although the little “really” qualifier somewhat dilutes the apology. I’ll point out that the imperfect form of the verb _leaf_ is in fact _leafs_. So, if you just realize that it’s the Toronto Maples that are beginning to leaf, it’s perfectly correct, grammatically. 😃 Actually, “Toronto Maple Leafs” is correct grammer in the U.S. or Canada. From [this site](http://www.yourdictionary.com/library/oxen.html), the Chair of Linguistics from Brigham Young University says: > [@](#): > > … we might consider the following, mostly-true generalization: If a noun has an irregular member (like the noun ox with its plural oxen), that noun may be regularized (ox is to oxes as box is to boxes) if it is used metaphorically. He goes on to give several examples, including “Toronto Maple Leafs.” ---
**Author:** ![Gregor\_Samsa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@Gregor\_Samsa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gregor_Samsa)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2002, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toronto-maple-leaf-parmagiana-topped-with-parmasan-cheese-english-questions/106855/12 "2002-05-02T18:07:02Z")
[This question](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=73527&highlight=toronto+maple+leafs) has come up before. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2002, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toronto-maple-leaf-parmagiana-topped-with-parmasan-cheese-english-questions/106855/13 "2002-05-02T18:35:56Z")
Thanks Cerowyn and Pipeliner. Now I’m very glad that I asked the question. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2002, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toronto-maple-leaf-parmagiana-topped-with-parmasan-cheese-english-questions/106855/14 "2002-05-02T20:38:02Z")
I don’t know about any of these answers. We hockey guys use the French way of not pronouncing the “s” on plural words. When Toronto comes to town, we say, “The Toronto Maple Leaf are playing the Philadelphia Flyer” Also, The Canadien come to town and battle it out with our organ-eye-zation. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2002, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toronto-maple-leaf-parmagiana-topped-with-parmasan-cheese-english-questions/106855/15 "2002-05-03T01:19:52Z")
in today’s paper (phila daily news) the tv listing had toronto playing in toronto at 7pm against i believe ottawa. the paper also listed the toronto maple leaf(s) playing in detroit at 8:30 pm against the piston(s). many of us were wonder how the 8:30 game would be played. many, many strange ideas. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2002, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toronto-maple-leaf-parmagiana-topped-with-parmasan-cheese-english-questions/106855/16 "2002-05-03T02:54:03Z")
Does the CFL still have two Roughriders? ---
**Author:** ![dqa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dqa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dqa)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2002, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toronto-maple-leaf-parmagiana-topped-with-parmasan-cheese-english-questions/106855/17 "2002-05-03T03:40:30Z")
The Saskatchewan Roughriders persist, but the Ottawa Rough Riders folded in 1996, and have been replaced by the Ottawa Renegades. Vancouver-based [Forget magazine](http://www.aioku.com/forget/081501.htm) has an amusing article on the troubled Ottawa team and the CFL in general. > [@](#): > > **Cashing in on the popularity of our boys in Cuba, Ottawa named its team the Rough Riders in 1898 and adopted the same red and black colours as the Canadian regiment. The Span-Am War still popular in 1912, the Regina Rugby Club decided to change their team colours to red and black as well…Regina cleverly distinguished themselves from the Ottawa team of the same name and colours by omitting the space between “Rough” and “riders”.** ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2002, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toronto-maple-leaf-parmagiana-topped-with-parmasan-cheese-english-questions/106855/18 "2002-05-03T04:52:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by rocking chair \* > \*\*in today’s paper (phila daily news) the tv listing had toronto playing in toronto at 7pm against i believe ottawa. the paper also listed the toronto maple leaf(s) playing in detroit at 8:30 pm against the piston(s). many of us were wonder how the 8:30 game would be played. many, many strange ideas. \*\* Never mind **how** the 8:30 game would be played, I wonder **what** game in Detroit would be played. The Leafs play hockey and the Pistons play basketball.