# What's the collective name for flour, sugar and so on? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 4, 2007, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-collective-name-for-flour-sugar-and-so-on/428751 "2007-12-04T04:14:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2007, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-collective-name-for-flour-sugar-and-so-on/428751/1 "2007-12-04T04:14:32Z")
Flour, sugar, powdered sugar, brown sugar, cornstarch, Bisquick and cornmeal. All these items are in canisters in my kitchen. I’m fairly certain there’s a collective name for them, but I can’t remember it. I’m picturing a woman in 1900 going into the general store and lining up at the ----- counter. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2007, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-collective-name-for-flour-sugar-and-so-on/428751/2 "2007-12-04T04:18:28Z")
Dry Goods. ---
**Author:** ![ladydisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@ladydisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladydisco)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2007, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-collective-name-for-flour-sugar-and-so-on/428751/3 "2007-12-04T04:19:49Z")
Staples? ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2007, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-collective-name-for-flour-sugar-and-so-on/428751/4 "2007-12-04T04:23:06Z")
Dry goods are fabric. Staples might be it. Although I thought “staples” meant a wide range of basics, including dairy and bread and so forth. Like a dozen eggs, pound of butter, half-gallon of milk, loaf of bread, box of cereal, some fruit, cheese and lunch meat, and there’s your staples. (Oh, and a two-liter of pop! And maybe some snack cakes.) ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2007, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-collective-name-for-flour-sugar-and-so-on/428751/5 "2007-12-04T04:27:46Z")
Ingredients. ---
**Author:** ![cwthree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de0a6/32.png) [@cwthree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cwthree)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2007, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-collective-name-for-flour-sugar-and-so-on/428751/6 "2007-12-04T04:45:46Z")
[QUOTE=Rilchiam] Dry goods are fabric. [/QUOTE] Fabric (and trim, lace, elastic, etc.) is _yard goods_, because it’s sold by the yard. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2007, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-collective-name-for-flour-sugar-and-so-on/428751/7 "2007-12-04T04:52:04Z")
They can be called dry goods or yard goods. Dry goods is not flour, though; that’s all I’m saying. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2007, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-collective-name-for-flour-sugar-and-so-on/428751/8 "2007-12-04T04:54:53Z")
[QUOTE=Rilchiam] Dry goods are fabric. [/QUOTE] I was pretty sure that dry goods include foodstuffs. According to [Wiki:](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dry_goods) > [@](#): > > Within the United States consumer goods industry, dry goods refers to any retail products that do not require refrigeration or freezing to maintain. I think I recall this from Little House on the Prairie. The BOOK, not the TV series! ---
**Author:** ![Polymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f14d63/32.png) [@Polymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polymer)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2007, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-collective-name-for-flour-sugar-and-so-on/428751/9 "2007-12-04T05:23:03Z")
[QUOTE=beowulff] Dry Goods. [/QUOTE] Why “goods”? And come to think of it, weren’t women called “Goodie” back when? As in “Goodie Anderson”, instead of Mrs Anderson? Where did this come from? ---
**Author:** ![Monstera\_deliciosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monstera_deliciosa/32/109_2.png) [@Monstera\_deliciosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstera_deliciosa)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2007, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-collective-name-for-flour-sugar-and-so-on/428751/10 "2007-12-04T05:30:23Z")
[QUOTE=Polymer] Why “goods”? And come to think of it, weren’t women called “Goodie” back when? As in “Goodie Anderson”, instead of Mrs Anderson? Where did this come from? [/QUOTE] It is a shortened form of the title “Goodwife.” [http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/goody](http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/goody) ---
**Author:** ![Polymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f14d63/32.png) [@Polymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polymer)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2007, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-collective-name-for-flour-sugar-and-so-on/428751/11 "2007-12-04T05:34:06Z")
[QUOTE=beowulff] Dry Goods. [/QUOTE] Why “goods”? And come to think of it, weren’t women called “Goodie” back when? As in “Goodie Anderson”, instead of Mrs Anderson? Where did this come from? ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2007, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-collective-name-for-flour-sugar-and-so-on/428751/12 "2007-12-04T07:18:18Z")
[QUOTE=Polymer] Why “goods”? And come to think of it, weren’t women called “Goodie” back when? As in “Goodie Anderson”, instead of Mrs Anderson? Where did this come from? [/QUOTE] It is a shortened form of the title “Goodwife.” [http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/goody](http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/goody) ---
**Author:** ![askeptic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@askeptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/askeptic)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2007, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-collective-name-for-flour-sugar-and-so-on/428751/13 "2007-12-04T07:23:41Z")
[QUOTE=Polymer] Why “goods”? And come to think of it, weren’t women called “Goodie” back when? As in “Goodie Anderson”, instead of Mrs Anderson? Where did this come from? [/QUOTE] It is a shortened form of the title “Goodwife.” [http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/goody](http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/goody) ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2007, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-collective-name-for-flour-sugar-and-so-on/428751/14 "2007-12-04T08:35:35Z")
Her name is Goodie, and she dances on the sand… Okay, I accept the definition of dry goods. But, is there a collective name for the dry ingredients you use in baking? There’s a reason why people keep them all in the same cabinet; there’s a reason why sets of canisters for them are sold. Or are they simply called “dry ingredients”? ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2007, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-collective-name-for-flour-sugar-and-so-on/428751/15 "2007-12-04T08:47:52Z")
[QUOTE=beowulff] Dry Goods. [/QUOTE] Are those dry goods? I mean, literally they are, but from reading old stories and local history I got the impression that dry goods was non-food items like housewares and furniture. It seemed that the early merchants who founded the big department stores usually started out in “dry goods”. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2007, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-collective-name-for-flour-sugar-and-so-on/428751/16 "2007-12-04T08:51:10Z")
[QUOTE=Polymer] Why “goods”? [/QUOTE] Because “goods” is just a somewhat old-fashioned business-y word for “stuff” in commerce. ---
**Author:** ![Agnostic\_Pagan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@Agnostic\_Pagan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agnostic_Pagan)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2007, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-collective-name-for-flour-sugar-and-so-on/428751/17 "2007-12-04T09:16:51Z")
[QUOTE=Spectre of Pithecanthropus] Because “goods” is just a somewhat old-fashioned business-y word for “stuff” in commerce. [/QUOTE] “Dry goods” is a bit old-fashioned, but ‘goods’ is still very common in business and economic jargon. It refers to any tangible product, while services refer to any intangible product. (Or was that a whoosh?) In regards to the OP, I refer to them as staples, but that also includes milk, eggs, butter, and other refrigerated stuff. Another term I’ve heard used in “pantry items” which are just non-refrigerated goods. I always had the impression also that dry goods referred to non-edible items, but especially the stuff to make other stuff, such as tools, lumber, fabric, etc. I now wonder what the phrase “wet goods” refers to, especially [here](http://www.fehd.gov.hk/news/details/02-11-2007-1758.html). I’ve never heard that terminology in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2007, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-collective-name-for-flour-sugar-and-so-on/428751/18 "2007-12-04T09:28:28Z")
I worked in a bonded warehouse a long time ago and the term ‘dry goods’ was used to describe things (gifts, electronics, clothing, books, china, etc) that weren’t wines and spirits. (Actually, tobacco products were included with the liquor - even though they are not ‘wet’ products, they weren’t thought of as ‘dry goods’). My WAG is that the term ‘dry goods’ derives from this kind of distinction - you had people trading in wines and spirits, then you had people trading in _other things_ - dry goods. ---
**Author:** ![Aioua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@Aioua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aioua)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2007, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-collective-name-for-flour-sugar-and-so-on/428751/19 "2007-12-04T15:54:48Z")
Just to throw another anecdote on the pile, I’ve never heard of dry goods meaning something _other_ than food. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![xnylder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/bbce88/32.png) [@xnylder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xnylder)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2007, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-collective-name-for-flour-sugar-and-so-on/428751/20 "2007-12-04T16:06:04Z")
In my experience, in the food service trade, “dry goods” refers to anything a food provider (restaurant, caterer, or so on) can receive that doesn’t need to be refrigerated. As **Agnostic Pagan** points out, it’s the stuff you could keep in a pantry. Rice, flour, oil, ketchup, takeout containers… anything like that could be part of a dry goods order. Part of my job as a cook was to check those orders. In our restaurant’s case, the other thing everything on the list had in common was that it came from one general supplier. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-collective-name-for-flour-sugar-and-so-on/428751.md?page=2)