# "Tuna fish" - why aren't any other kinds of fish redundant? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 3, 2009, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-fish-why-arent-any-other-kinds-of-fish-redundant/516124 "2009-11-03T02:05:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-fish-why-arent-any-other-kinds-of-fish-redundant/516124/1 "2009-11-03T02:05:53Z")
People often say “tuna fish” when they’re talking about tuna. It seems to be chiefly used when referring to the food, and not to the actual living fish. Furthermore it seems only to apply to canned, shredded tuna; you never hear a person (or a menu) speak of tuna fish sushi, seared tuna fish steak, or anything like that. “Tuna” can be high-class fare, but “tuna fish” is the domain of cheap sandwiches alone. No other fish has this redundant name. Nobody talks about salmon fish, or trout fish, or anything like that. _Every_ now and then you will see “codfish” used, but even that is fairly rare and seems to only be used in conjunction with oil, extract or other products made from the cod - never a food. Why is this? Does anyone know? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-fish-why-arent-any-other-kinds-of-fish-redundant/516124/2 "2009-11-03T02:23:32Z")
I’ve wondered about this myself. But there are fish that have “fish” in their name, like goldfish. I agree that “tuna fish” is redundant. ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-fish-why-arent-any-other-kinds-of-fish-redundant/516124/3 "2009-11-03T02:29:40Z")
Gefilte fish? Well, maybe not. I’ve never heard of a school of gefiltes. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-fish-why-arent-any-other-kinds-of-fish-redundant/516124/4 "2009-11-03T02:35:56Z")
Sunfish. Parrot Fish. Puffer Fish. Starfish (which aren’t fish, but still). ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-fish-why-arent-any-other-kinds-of-fish-redundant/516124/5 "2009-11-03T02:37:30Z")
> [@Rysdad](#): > > Gefilte fish? > > Well, maybe not. I’ve never heard of a school of gefiltes. Isn’t a school of gefiltes where they learn how to make those mail-order coffeemakers? 😃 Seriously, I’m under the (possibly mistaken) impression that _gefillte-_ is Yiddish for “filleted” or something similar. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-fish-why-arent-any-other-kinds-of-fish-redundant/516124/6 "2009-11-03T02:38:36Z")
Lionfish ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-fish-why-arent-any-other-kinds-of-fish-redundant/516124/7 "2009-11-03T02:43:21Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Sunfish. Parrot Fish. Puffer Fish. Starfish (which aren’t fish, but still). This stuff doesn’t really count because if the word “fish” weren’t there, the word would have a completely different meaning. The equivalent to what I’m talking about would be to say “sunfish fish” or somesuch. ETA: a bar here has, on the menu, a “CATFISH FISH SANDWICH”. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-fish-why-arent-any-other-kinds-of-fish-redundant/516124/8 "2009-11-03T02:49:13Z")
Perhaps it was to be sure people knew it was the fish and not the cactus fruit which is edible also. [Tuna](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tuna) ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-fish-why-arent-any-other-kinds-of-fish-redundant/516124/9 "2009-11-03T02:51:35Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > Lionfish I hear you eat those kind of like artichokes, but I’ve never had the pleasure. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-fish-why-arent-any-other-kinds-of-fish-redundant/516124/10 "2009-11-03T02:51:56Z")
Well, tuna is a type of cactus, too. So if you didn’t specify tuna fish, you might mean tuna cactus. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-fish-why-arent-any-other-kinds-of-fish-redundant/516124/11 "2009-11-03T02:59:06Z")
Blame REO. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-fish-why-arent-any-other-kinds-of-fish-redundant/516124/12 "2009-11-03T03:01:45Z")
It seems to me that I hear “tuna fish” a lot less often than I used to. It has kind of an old-fashioned ring to me. Googling turns up many more instances of “tuna sandwich” than “tuna fish sandwich.” Similarly, “tuna salad” vs. “tuna fish salad.” On an only slightly related note, the breed commonly known as German Shepherd is called German Shepherd Dog by the American Kennel Club and other registries. In this case, it’s a direct translation from the German. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-fish-why-arent-any-other-kinds-of-fish-redundant/516124/13 "2009-11-03T03:02:13Z")
> [@](#): > > Blame REO. Speedwagon? What did they do? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-fish-why-arent-any-other-kinds-of-fish-redundant/516124/14 "2009-11-03T03:03:59Z")
> [@WarmNPrickly](#): > > Speedwagon? What did they do? You’re kidding, right? [You Can…](http://www.speedwagon.com/database/showalbum.pl?8) ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-fish-why-arent-any-other-kinds-of-fish-redundant/516124/15 "2009-11-03T03:16:36Z")
To be fair, the joke was around long before the band was, so you can’t blame them completely. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-fish-why-arent-any-other-kinds-of-fish-redundant/516124/16 "2009-11-03T03:19:38Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > Seriously, I’m under the (possibly mistaken) impression that _gefillte-_ is Yiddish for “filleted” or something similar. Stuffed. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-fish-why-arent-any-other-kinds-of-fish-redundant/516124/17 "2009-11-03T03:48:48Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > You’re kidding, right? > > [You Can…](http://www.speedwagon.com/database/showalbum.pl?8) Sorry, I am not familiar with the REO Speedwagon discography. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-fish-why-arent-any-other-kinds-of-fish-redundant/516124/18 "2009-11-03T03:53:41Z")
You can tune a piano, but you can’t tuna fish. Well, _someone_ had to say it! ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-fish-why-arent-any-other-kinds-of-fish-redundant/516124/19 "2009-11-03T05:19:40Z")
> [@](#): > > Every now and then you will see “codfish” used, but even that is fairly rare and seems to only be used in conjunction with oil, extract or other products made from the cod - never a food. Food - codfish balls. (Yeah, I know - you never realized fish HAD them) ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-fish-why-arent-any-other-kinds-of-fish-redundant/516124/20 "2009-11-03T05:27:11Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Well, tuna is a type of cactus, too. So if you didn’t specify tuna fish, you might mean tuna cactus. I made that mistake too many times to count in restaurants. I usually just blush when the food comes out and eat it anyway. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-fish-why-arent-any-other-kinds-of-fish-redundant/516124.md?page=2)