To be fair, an item’s inclusion in the OED (or any other modern-style dictionary) just means that it is indeed a term which is commonly used. And I don’t think anyone is denying that many English speakers do commonly use “kiwi” to refer to a fruit. The most that this could contribute to the debate is in the fact that there’s no usage note about offensiveness next to that entry; but then, even that perhaps just indicates that few speakers consider this term offensive, which I think must already be acknowledged as an empirical fact by both sides of this debate as well.
Nor any indication that it is “slang”, as #3 is described, or “colloquial”, or any of the other words that the OED uses when it considers a particular usage to be not quite proper.
I can understand the mild offence that some New Zealanders might take. It’s not so much being likened to a fruit, it’s more the implied ignorance of the fact that the word “kiwi” usually means a person, or literally a bird, and not a kiwifruit. To call the fruit a “kiwi” suggests that the speaker doesn’t know anything about New Zealand.
Is anyone else beginning to suspect that literally every New Zealander in the world is an asshole for stealing the word kiwi from the adorable little birds? After all, the word kiwi had a recognized meaning before it was stolen by the people.
Why is it ok for New Zealanders to steal the name from the bird without adding a clarifying modifier but not for the fruit to? At least the fruit looks like the little bird.
From now on I’m calling kiwis/kiwifruits “buckeyes.”
Since no-one in NZ has ever heard of a “buckeye” you’re welcome to go ahead. 
Actually, it was the British who took the name and applied it to the people who lived in the country- if you have a look at old books and ads from the British Empire in the late 19th and early 20th centuries it’s not uncommon for NZ to be referred to as “Kiwiland” or “Maoriland”.
You know, I can’t help but feel that if there was a fruit from America called a “Coyotefruit”, but we in Australia/NZ decided to call it a “Coyote”, there would be people in the US getting shitty at us for doing so, and instead of saying “Well, OK, that’s what you call it there” I suspect there would be several people here insisting we “Use the right name”.
Of course, now I’ve mentioned that you’ll all disagree with me and insist that’s not the case, but I rather suspect that in fact it would be.
I doubt it. I don’t think you’ll find most of us demanding that you say “zucchini” instead of “courgette” or such things either.
Yeah. I imagine after the initial confusion (“You guys put coyotes in fruit salad?”) most folk would be pretty amused and understanding. Backformation is not an unusual thing in American English.
Well you’re wrong about that. I fucking LOVE coyotefruit and there better not be even one single Kiwihuman out there calling it by the wrong name.
Similarly, reading through this thread, I’ve recalled my experiences in Australian supermarkets. I certainly didn’t demand that the capsicums be relabelled green peppers. If what I call a green pepper at home is called a capsicum elsewhere, what of it?
Locally to me, it’s sweater, not jumper; trunk, not boot; eavestrough, not gutter; hood, not bonnet; and elevator, not lift. It’s spelled tire, not tyre; curb, not kerb, cheque, not check; and colour, not color. There are many other examples, but the important thing is this: I am well aware that my way is not the correct way in all the English-speaking countries of the world. I certainly don’t demand that the English start putting luggage in the trunk of their cars, that Americans write cheques, and that Australians relabel supermarket produce to indicate that green peppers are for sale. Similarly, I don’t expect foreigners to tell me what English vocabulary or spelling is acceptable in my own home.
I’m perfectly willing to work with your version of the language when we’re in your home, but I think it’s rather arrogant to attempt to push your version of the language into other places when inhabitants of those other places have made it very clear, through personal experience and published authorities, that your version won’t be accepted in their homes anytime soon.
And we call it a coyote here, not a coyotefruit. The Yanks just shrug. So it seems there is no danger in them telling you what to call your coyotes.
Really? Our (formerly East-)German friend was surprised that we COOKED sweet corn–she said that she and her mom generally just ate it raw. And she always laughed at the fact that we would look on in horror if she bought a piece of fruit from the market and started eating it on the spot, without first washing it.
Oh, and just to expand on this: sure, I’ll allow that there are Americans who’d go, “Damn foreigners calling it what it ain’t! It’s a coyotefruit, dangit!” But that takes a special kind of insular mind, and I strongly doubt that someone who paid any attention to social studies in school and/or has experience with multicultural communities is going to be all that offended by different names for one thing.
There have however been repeated claims that this common usage is incorrect, wrong, or somehow not real.
There are two general ways in which a word can be used incorrectly. From a descriptivist perspective, there’s the “nobody says that” rule. If native speakers of that language or dialect don’t use a word in a particular way then that usage is wrong in that language/dialect. From a prescriptivist perspective, if a particular usage is not recognized by respected language authorities then it’s wrong.
Either way you slice it, using “kiwi” to mean the fruit isn’t wrong in North America because the usage is common here (have any UK Dopers weighed in on what the fruit is called there?) and it’s also recognized by major English dictionaries including the OED, Merriam-Webster, and the American Heritage Dictionary. By any reasonable standard it is not merely common but perfectly correct in North America to call the fruit a “kiwi”.
*Even the posters on the “No, it’s a kiwifruit” side have largely conceded that calling the fruit a “kiwi” is not in and of itself offensive, the supposed offensiveness comes from non-New Zealanders persisting in using the wrong name even after they’ve been corrected. If it isn’t the wrong name then there’s nothing to correct and thus nothing to be offended about.
Yeah, I think you’re forgetting how unbelievably LAZY we are when it comes to our nicknames. If there were a way to shorten “grape” to less than one syllable, we would do it. Personally, I find it painful to have to call someone “Jonathan” rather than “Jon.”
You think it’s bad now? Within 20 years, you can expect us all to be calling kiwifruits “keys.” (Or possibly “wiis,” depending on how long Nintendo sticks around.)
The best part about the kiwi/kiwifruit thing is that the very people who named the stupid thing are now taking issue with it. This is beyond funny to me. Perhaps you should’ve named it something else, then.
I am happy to call the fuzzy green fruit a “kiwifruit,” however.
From what I’ve seen, the ways that Canadians have adapted to our horrible winters are some of the things that foreigners find most odd obout our culture.
I wish I was. I spent a year at University in B’ham and more than once I saw those abominations and more.
They have kick ass curry though and 10 years later I still miss doner kebabs.
“Honey, did you plug the car in last night?”
“Me? I thought you plugged the car in!”
Well, I’ve never seen sprouts on pizza, and the cold chicken that people sometimes eat is cold roast chicken, not boiled.
Wait, is that all this is about now? Not intrinsic offensiveness, but just “It’s the wrong name”? Then this is downright stupid and the “zucchini/courgette” example is spot-on for illustrating why. I couldn’t even imagine someone being that anti-descriptivist as to fail to accept the legitimacy of mere variation in food names across countries; I assumed there must have been some extra element of “But that name is derogatory!” driving the hand-wringing.