# Tuna"fish" -why? Then why not beefmammal, chickenbird, shrimpbug? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 30, 2012, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-fish-why-then-why-not-beefmammal-chickenbird-shrimpbug/633177 "2012-08-30T19:00:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-fish-why-then-why-not-beefmammal-chickenbird-shrimpbug/633177/41 "2012-08-31T17:00:31Z")
Reminds me of the old joke about pussy willows. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-fish-why-then-why-not-beefmammal-chickenbird-shrimpbug/633177/42 "2012-08-31T17:02:40Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Reminds me of the old joke about pussy willows. Is that the one where the punchline is “Hold on, let me get my hat.”? ---
**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:** [August 31, 2012, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-fish-why-then-why-not-beefmammal-chickenbird-shrimpbug/633177/43 "2012-08-31T17:03:34Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Did you know the titmouse has nothing to do with either tits or mice? Likewise for the [bushtit](http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/85/Bushtits_Salem_OR.JPG/220px-Bushtits_Salem_OR.JPG&imgrefurl=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aegithalidae&h=270&w=220&sz=17&tbnid=2nK-Jmc6tTq3VM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=73&zoom=1&usg=__npRY6ZeYabGvZ3bBwGlhm4sNiMQ=&sa=X&ei=Qu5AUKKKNbLXiALHooDADw&ved=0CDMQ9QEwAg&dur=3658). Sad, really. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-fish-why-then-why-not-beefmammal-chickenbird-shrimpbug/633177/44 "2012-08-31T17:12:23Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Is that the one where the punchline is “Hold on, let me get my hat.”? 20 bucks, same as uptown. No, it’s the golfers. OK… A guy, looking for his golf ball, comes out of the woods quite shaken and pale. His buddy says “What happened to you?” “Well, I was looking for my ball, and decided to take a leak. I was peeing on some buttercups and boom! Mother Nature appeared out of nowhere and told me that for doing so I woulld not be allowed to eat butter for a whole year” His buddy shrugs, “Yeah, so what there’s always margarine?” “Yeah, but I came this \<\> close to pissing on some pussy willows.” ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-fish-why-then-why-not-beefmammal-chickenbird-shrimpbug/633177/45 "2012-08-31T17:20:43Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > [Previous thread on the same topic.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=538404) And here’s an even older one > **[Why do we say tuna "fish" sandwich?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=9106)** > > Why do we say tuna “fish” sandwich? Why not just tuna sandwich? Isn’t it redundant to say both “tuna” and “fish”? There isn’t a non-fish type tuna, is there? (“Chicken Of The Sea” doesn’t count) ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-fish-why-then-why-not-beefmammal-chickenbird-shrimpbug/633177/46 "2012-08-31T17:57:44Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > … tuna fucking salad. Which is how I’ve always pronounced it in my head. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-fish-why-then-why-not-beefmammal-chickenbird-shrimpbug/633177/47 "2012-08-31T18:12:41Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > No, it’s the golfers. OK… That was pretty good! An old-timer is sitting on his porch. A couple of boys walk by carrying some chicken wire. The old-timer asked “Where are you going with that chicken wire?” “Gonna catch some chickens!” replied one boy. “Durn fool kids! You can’t catch chickens with chicken wire!” A few hours later the boys walked back the other way, with chickens caught in the chicken wire. The next day the boys walk by carrying some duct tape. The old-timer asked “Where are you going with that duck tape?” “Gonna catch some ducks!” replied the boy. “Durn fool kids! You can’t catch ducks with duck tape!” A few hours later the boys walked back the other way, with ducks stuck to the duct tape. The next day the boys walked by carrying some pussy willows. The old-timer said “Hold on there, young fellers. Let me get my hat.” ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-fish-why-then-why-not-beefmammal-chickenbird-shrimpbug/633177/48 "2012-08-31T18:15:31Z")
😛 ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-fish-why-then-why-not-beefmammal-chickenbird-shrimpbug/633177/49 "2012-09-01T00:28:11Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > Some Southern Americans call ground beef “hamburger meat”, if that makes you feel any better. I can’t laugh at them, not when whether or not I include the “er” at the end is dependant on whether we’re talking raw meat or cooked and shaped into a patty. ---
**Author:** ![ExcitedIdiot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ea5d25/32.png) [@ExcitedIdiot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExcitedIdiot)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-fish-why-then-why-not-beefmammal-chickenbird-shrimpbug/633177/50 "2012-09-07T16:15:58Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Apparently it grows in bunches, like grapes. That’s according to Trivial Persuit. Web searches on the subject sort of bear this out, but I have yet to find a trustworthy cite. > [@](#): > > If you see grapefruit growing on a tree, you will notice that they grow in clusters. It is suggested that these clusters resemble the shape of large yellow grapes and so the fruit was called a grapefruit. Another explanation is that the premature grapefruit looks similar in shape to unripe green grapes. > **[About this Reading Room | Science and Business Reading Room | Research Centers...](https://www.loc.gov/research-centers/science-and-business/about-this-research-center/)** > > The Science & Business Reading Room at the Library of Congress serves > as the gateway for science, engineering, business, and economics > research. Science and business specialists serve the Library’s mission > to engage, inspire and inform... ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2012, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-fish-why-then-why-not-beefmammal-chickenbird-shrimpbug/633177/51 "2012-09-09T08:42:49Z")
We didn’t start eating tuna until the 1880’s. The general public, not until the first tuna was canned in 1903. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-fish-why-then-why-not-beefmammal-chickenbird-shrimpbug/633177.md?page=2)