# Where are you from? What does 'pie' mean to you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 6, 2004, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-you-from-what-does-pie-mean-to-you/267826 "2004-10-06T11:59:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![owlstretchingtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/958977/32.png) [@owlstretchingtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/owlstretchingtime)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-you-from-what-does-pie-mean-to-you/267826/21 "2004-10-06T13:35:50Z")
> [@Small Clanger](#): > > Like this [suspicious food](http://www.lloydich.com/porkpie.htm)? Looks wholesome enough to me 🙂 > > BTW **owlstretch** I’ve always known the snake and pygmy dish as _pudding_, was my mum just trying to confuse us? Pork pies are one of a few select reasons that I could never leave England (along with Tottenham Hotspur FC; Hampshire Cricket Club, Marston’s Pedigree. Tea, pubs and twiglets) Snake and pygmy pie has a pastry case and (my preference) snake and pygmy pud is suet pastry and steamed not baked. You do realise that we have now revolted all the yanks on this thread as they don’t eat pygmy (and most of them could do with cutting down on the snakes if truth is told) and they think that suet is bird food (really they do). Poor benighted fools. ---
**Author:** ![RumMunkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@RumMunkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RumMunkey)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-you-from-what-does-pie-mean-to-you/267826/22 "2004-10-06T13:40:03Z")
Born and raised in Canada. Raised in a completely English household. If you were to offer me “Pie” I would expect either a tasty dessert, or you would want me to perform Oral sex. -Depending on how you asked me, and if you were a girl, of course. ---
**Author:** ![pyrrthon1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/2acd7d/32.png) [@pyrrthon1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pyrrthon1)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-you-from-what-does-pie-mean-to-you/267826/23 "2004-10-06T13:41:04Z")
In New York, pie is either pizza or the dessert. A “piece” or pie means the dessert; a “slice” of pie means pizza. ---
**Author:** ![Roland\_Orzabal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@Roland\_Orzabal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roland_Orzabal)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-you-from-what-does-pie-mean-to-you/267826/24 "2004-10-06T13:44:18Z")
Ah, yes, I forgot about meat pies. My “dessert or pizza” comment was assuming I was dealing with an American. I would figure an obvious native of NYC was offering me a pizza, while a fellow Roanoker would be giving me dessert. To be honest, though, I probably would’ve figured out of pure ignorance that an Englishman was offering the dessert variety. Now, I know better. Thanks, SDMB! ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-you-from-what-does-pie-mean-to-you/267826/25 "2004-10-06T13:48:39Z")
> [@Roland Orzabal](#): > > Ah, yes, I forgot about meat pies. My “dessert or pizza” comment was assuming I was dealing with an American. I would figure an obvious native of NYC was offering me a pizza, while a fellow Roanoker would be giving me dessert. To be honest, though, I probably would’ve figured out of pure ignorance that an Englishman was offering the dessert variety. Now, I know better. Thanks, SDMB! Boy would you have gotten a shock as you chowed down on kidney unexpectedly. Most Americans seem revolted by the thought. ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-you-from-what-does-pie-mean-to-you/267826/26 "2004-10-06T13:52:50Z")
I like **jjimm’s** definition. I’m from the southern US and if someone offers “pie” it means a pastry dessert filled with fruit (that can be either baked or fried, MMMMMM fried apple pies!),gooey like pecan pie or custardy like chocolate, coconut or lemon. We also have chicken pie but it would never be offered as just “pie.” It would be offered as chicken pie. Pizza is not referred to as pie, just pizza. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-you-from-what-does-pie-mean-to-you/267826/27 "2004-10-06T13:56:59Z")
A pie is mince and cheese (well that is my fav) wraped in flaky pastry. Often bought at petrol stations after a big night out. What? I am the only one who thinks a pie is the BEST hangover cure? ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-you-from-what-does-pie-mean-to-you/267826/28 "2004-10-06T13:59:47Z")
> [@Roland Orzabal](#): > > Ah, yes, I forgot about meat pies. You haven’t lived till you have had a good meat pie! ---
**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:** [October 6, 2004, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-you-from-what-does-pie-mean-to-you/267826/29 "2004-10-06T14:03:46Z")
> [@foxymoron](#): > > So, **Mangetout** , why are you asking, and what kind of pie were _you_ thinking of? Well, that’s the odd thing; divorced from context or qualifiers (which, admittedly, doesn’t happen often in real life), I wouldn’t have a clue what I’d be getting. ‘Pie’ or ‘a pie’ to me are strictly generic terms meaning a pastry shell with some kind of filling. I eat a lot of pies (but not all of them, like **owlstretchingtime** , who I understand additionally ate the sausage rolls), but if someone were to ask me ‘do you fancy [a] pie?’, I’d be forced to ask what kind. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-you-from-what-does-pie-mean-to-you/267826/30 "2004-10-06T14:04:10Z")
Quebec, Canada. Unmodified “pie” or “a pie” is dessert, but there’s nothing odd about “meat pie” or “egg pie” or so forth… however, if I was going to describe a meat pie made of ground beef or pork, I’d probably be more likely to call it tourtière. ---
**Author:** ![owlstretchingtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/958977/32.png) [@owlstretchingtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/owlstretchingtime)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-you-from-what-does-pie-mean-to-you/267826/31 "2004-10-06T14:09:51Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > ‘Pie’ or ‘a pie’ to me are strictly generic terms meaning a pastry shell with some kind of filling. I eat a lot of pies (but not all of them, like **owlstretchingtime** , who I understand additionally ate the sausage rolls. Pies, pasties, sausage rolls, scotch egs, ginsters steak slices, jamaican patties, puddings, vol-au-vents. Bring 'em on I say! ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-you-from-what-does-pie-mean-to-you/267826/32 "2004-10-06T14:14:39Z")
Ooops. A pie is always presumed to be some kind of meat and pastry deal here. That is not to say that we don’t know what an apple pie is. But if someone asks you if you “fancy a pie for lunch” it will be a meat pie. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-you-from-what-does-pie-mean-to-you/267826/33 "2004-10-06T14:17:46Z")
Born and raised in northeast US. “Pie” usually means a pastry shell with fruit filling, or occasionally chocolate pussing-like stuff or lemon. I’ve heard rumors of a Christmas dish called “mincemeat” pie, but have never actually seen it. Ditto for “Green Tomato” Pie. “Pie” _might_ be Chicken Pot Pie, a mix of chicken meat, potatoes, carrots, celery, peas (maybe) and possibly other vegetables in gravy in the same kind of pastry crust. Sounds like a plot by the chicken people to horn in on the dessert market, but a well-made CPP is OK. “Pie” is also an old term for Pizza. My father occasionally called Pizza a “Tomato Pie”, but I think this is an old term, used to “sell” the idea to an unfamiliar public, that is now dying out. (Kinda like “Norwegian snowshoes” for “skis”) “Pie” by itself never means British-style meat pies, which are always “meat pies”. Had these in Britain and Ireland, and they’re OK, too, but not at all like chicken pot pies. Shepher’s Pie is never just “Pie”, either. It’s another British Meat Pie, and therefore always needs the modifier. A friend of mine used to call Quiche Lorraigne “Scrambled Egg Pie”, but that was just her. “Pie” is never Quiche. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-you-from-what-does-pie-mean-to-you/267826/34 "2004-10-06T14:18:50Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > England, Hampshire. > > If you offered me “pie” I would think you mean dessert, but if you offered me “ **a** pie” I would probably think meat. That might just be me, though. American. but a very long time SCAdian with a serious interest in culinaty history and lots of british and commonwealth friends. I would differentiate between **a piece** of pie [sweet dessert] and **a** pie [savory, meat and veg] if the person were brit/commonwealth. if american **a** pie might possibly be pizza if the person offering it was from chicago, north new jersey or east pennsylvania. **a** pie from an amish or mennonite might mean sweet, might mean savory. ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-you-from-what-does-pie-mean-to-you/267826/35 "2004-10-06T14:22:01Z")
Had a lot of English influence in my childhood - my brother’s grandparents are English - so pie means either to me, depending on the context. (American, New England) ---
**Author:** ![owlstretchingtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/958977/32.png) [@owlstretchingtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/owlstretchingtime)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-you-from-what-does-pie-mean-to-you/267826/36 "2004-10-06T14:24:23Z")
> [@calm kiwi](#): > > Ooops. A pie is always presumed to be some kind of meat and pastry deal here. That is not to say that we don’t know what an apple pie is. But if someone asks you if you “fancy a pie for lunch” it will be a meat pie. Do you do the meat pie floater thing in NZ or is that just an Aussie thing? ---
**Author:** ![Exgineer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Exgineer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exgineer)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-you-from-what-does-pie-mean-to-you/267826/37 "2004-10-06T14:25:11Z")
“Pie” by itself means apple pie, and it is to be understood that there will be cheese as well. All other varieties must be specifically described. If you say “chicken pot pie,” “blueberry pie,” “mincemeat pie” or what have you, I’ll know what I’m getting. If you just say “pie” it better be apple. ---
**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:** [October 6, 2004, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-you-from-what-does-pie-mean-to-you/267826/38 "2004-10-06T14:27:48Z")
You Aussies may or may not like this story: My Dad and Uncle were down under once staying at a friends house. They’d eaten lunch and were having dessert: a fruit pie of some kind. Anyhow, they were talking about my dad’s job when from out of nowhere the host asks, “How’s the pie?” “Delicious” they respond. “No, I meant the pie.” He says. My dad and uncle look at each other confused and sort of weakly indicate their plates with a “?” on their faces. So the host says, “Your job. Does it Pie well?” My dad was thrown off by the Aussie way of saying “Pay.” I could feel poor ol’ Dad’s embarrassment all the way back here in the US. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-you-from-what-does-pie-mean-to-you/267826/39 "2004-10-06T14:29:14Z")
> [@owlstretchingtime](#): > > Do you do the meat pie floater thing in NZ or is that just an Aussie thing? EWWWWWWW Don’t be revolting! That is an Aussie thing. I want to tell **Dooku** where to find a bloody good pie when he visits Auck. There will be no pea soupy mess involved. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-you-from-what-does-pie-mean-to-you/267826/40 "2004-10-06T14:34:03Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Born and raised in northeast US. > > Shepher’s Pie is never just “Pie”, either. It’s another British Meat Pie, and therefore always needs the modifier. A shepards pie or cottage pie (same thing really) is a whole different animal. No pastry just mince and a mashed potato top. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-you-from-what-does-pie-mean-to-you/267826.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-you-from-what-does-pie-mean-to-you/267826.md?page=3)