So because there’s another name for it, septic isn’t negative?
This thread really calls for a Flight of the Concords episode.
This bengangmo/kiwifruit thing is killing me!
As an aside, many people in the restaurant business refer to kiwis as ‘gorilla nuts.’
So hey, guys, it turns out that all those times I ordered Chinese, it turned out I really was eating General Tso.
Now I want to buy some kiwis just to use the word kiwis.
I went to school with a man from Australia. He told me that in New Zealand, sexual relations between humans and sheep were not only legal, but incredibly common. The way he described it, you’d think every single person in New Zealand was having relations with a sheep. They’re very nice looking animals, I admit, but I think most foreigners traveling to New Zealand would be shocked at this practice.
If we’re going to play that game, then Wikipedia describes a Kiwi primarily as the bird, and the fruit as “Kiwifruit”, with a mention that “Kiwi” is a “colloquial” name in some countries.
Also, the whole “Seppo” thing doesn’t really compare- almost no-one actually uses the term, and if an American said “Please don’t use that term”, you’d have to be a gigantic wanker to continue to do so after that point.
The point being made is quite simple: The “colloquial” name in the US for the green-centred fruit is incorrectly applied. You can jump up and down and insist that “that’s what we call them”, but it doesn’t make you correct, just toeing the party line wherever you are.
This really isn’t as big a deal as it’s being made out to be… at this rate it’s going to end up there with “Tipping” and “Shoes on or off in the house” as Subjects Which Cannot Be Discussed Civilly On These Boards, and I don’t think anyone wants that.
Assuming we’re not being whooshed, the person who told you that is full of shit and was pulling your leg. So, either way, someone’s been whooshed here…
Incidentally, the whole “Sex with sheep” thing is offensive to NZers, unless the person making said joke is from Australia (and only Australia) or is a Kiwi ex-pat.
Now if we are going to go the sex with sheep route though - I should probably point out that the legal definition of bigamy in Australia includes someone who owns two sheep. 
ETA - I just realised the sheep thing was an attempted whoosh - you wouldn’t find an Australian at school
Yes, as I’ve said I do know that the kiwi is a bird native to New Zealand. What I don’t know is how the term came to be applied to New Zealanders. You named yourselves after a bird?
As for the kiwi/kiwifruit debate, others have already said what I think, but I will mention that around here the fruit is also simply called “kiwi” in French, and looking in my Larousse dictionary it appears to be the only term for it. There is no “kiwifruit” in this dictionary, nor is there a “groseille chinoise” (French for “Chinese gooseberry”). So New Zealanders, I’m very sorry, but this is a battle you’ve lost if you really did care about it in the first place. Find some comfort in the fact that everywhere in the world people refer to a very common and tasty fruit using the name you use for yourselves. (Honestly this is something I’d personally really appreciate, and given that you’ve named yourselves after a bird in the first place, I don’t think the claim that it somehow taints the word will get very far.)
Well, actually, the country is named after the Zeeland province in Holland (The chap who discovered NZ, Abel Tasman, was Dutch).
But since when do much national nicknames make much sense? I mean, what’s a “Canuck” or a “Yank” when you think about it?
Hmm…yes we do care. I could not give you a dissertation how we came to refer to ourselves as “Kiwis” we just do. The kiwi is something that is very unique to New Zealand - so much so that when we were considering a new flag, one was mooted with kiwi on a plain coloured back ground. We were referring to ourselves as Kiwis before the fruit was marketed (in fact that’s why the name Kiwifruit was chosen - because it was suggestive of New Zealand)
I hope that we are not fighting a totally losing battle.
And it is in now way a compliment to have somebody calling a fruit after our national symbol. It is not something to be pleased about.
How do you think an Italian would feel if we started calling pizzas “Italys” or a French citizen would feel if we started calling a bagel “French” (and yes many places will market stuff like Italian Pizza or French Loaf)
Why does it sully the word? Hmm…I guess that’s partly emotional - I don’t like to hear about people “eating” my national symbol, not do I like to hear about a protected species being on sale at the supermarket.
I don’t like to see kiwi juice when I visit the smoothy shop - I feel like asking where they got my blood from or whether the “juice” was squeezed from a live or dead kiwi.
When the chinese gooseberry was launched on the market (back in the 60’s) it was called a kiwifruit. Although the variety launched was one that had been hybridised in New Zealand, chinese goosberry was one name that was considered.
That (some) people have taken it upon themselves to shorten the name in the interests of I don’t know what (economy? ease of use?) doesn’t particularly make it more palatable to people.
I would hazard a guess that if a survey were done in New Zealand right now, you would get a very strong majority that would object to a Kiwifruit being called simply a kiwi. That we, as a nation, the same people that brought the kiwifruit to world attention and marketed it, that have the kiwi as a national symbol and that willingly call outselves kiwis, object to the moniker you are using not enough to try and fight this foolish phenomenon (sp?).
Hm, perhaps Japan should be offended rather than proud of their Fuji apples?
Although I suppose to be fair, the apples aren’t named after Japan’s national symbol; they just happen to share the same name.
All I have to say on the kiwi/kiwifruit subject is:
New Zealanders, take it up with the dictionary producers of the world, as well as Thesaurus writers and encyclopedia makers, if you have issue. Out of deference to your obvious upset, WHILE IN NEW ZEALAND, I will refer to the Kiwi as the Chinese Gooseberry. Just as while in the U.S. I will not call someone mulatto, no matter how that word is used elsewhere, and in England I will be quite comfortable asking for a fag if I want one, while in your nation I will do my best to appease your national pride. I will also never ask for a second helping in Japan, feel comfortable with less personal space in Russia, and never complain about poor service in the afternoon in Spain. That is the mark of a good guest, yes? However, asking the whole world to change because your feelings are hurt is a teensy-weensy bit arrogant, is it not? What was that saying? When in Rome… something…
You are on an international stage, and I’m sorry you feel slighted that you are not considered the ultimate authority on what a slimy, hair-covered fruit is called. Oh, and if you don’t mind, I will call a small brown bird a kiwi, and a human a New Zealander.
Hell, natives of *my *country are named after a type of cactus.
Or, horrors, if we used “Danish” to describe a pastry.
I assure you, if you start referring to some fruit as a “bald eagle”, we’d all be more amused than offended.
I suppose you’ll say it’s not the same, because we don’t use “bald eagle” as a demonym. Very well, then. People from Ohio are colloquially called “buckeyes”, after a native tree of which they are fond. Yet the term “buckeye” is also used for a particular peanut butter candy without causing much offense.
[Well, apart from one notable but irrelevant case here on the SDMB…]
This is not related to the ‘kiwi’ debate, but a couple of things I have noticed:
In Spain, where I spent a summer studying abroad, older people (over 30? 40?) believed that running air conditioning overnight was unhealthy. I’ve also heard about ‘fan death’. So foreigners may find our obsession with temperature control while we’re sleeping to be weird.
Another thing which I’ll need confirmed is…nipples. While discussing bra choices with a friend in France, it came up that apparently the French are not bothered by ‘perky nipples’ on women the way Americans are.
I also think foreigners would be a bit weirded out by how large the average American’s car is. And perhaps also that you can get taxis large enough to seat more than four people. My family of five has always had to hire two cabs in both Europe and Canada.
Esentially, yes. The version I’ve heard, is that the kiwi symbol was on the uniforms of New Zealand soldiers in WW1, and became a slang term for New Zealanders, which was gradually adopted by the rest the country.
There are also 19th century British advertisments encouraging people to emmigrate to ‘Kiwiland’ (or ‘Maoriland’), so the kiwi, funny looking bird that it is, has been emblematic of NZ for a while now.
Some people from outside the U.S. are absolutely flabbergasted by the portion sizes in U.S. restaurants. A buddy from Japan claimed he could feed a family of three on an Olive Garden meal.
Not just the Canadian dictionary, but the OED:
kiwi:
- The native New Zealand name of the APTERYX, now commonly used in English.
- (With capital initial.) A New Zealander, esp. a New Zealand soldier; also, a New Zealand sportsman.
- Also Kiwi. A non-flying member of an air force (see also quot. 1938). slang.
4. = kiwi berry, fruit. - attrib. and Comb., as kiwi feather, -hunter, -preserve; kiwi berry, fruit = Chinese gooseberry
So there you have it, the ultimate authority on the English language confirms that it’s a perfectly correct usage. Deal with it.