# Which is correct to say: butcher's knife or butcher knife? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 18, 2014, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-correct-to-say-butchers-knife-or-butcher-knife/698792 "2014-09-18T02:48:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-correct-to-say-butchers-knife-or-butcher-knife/698792/1 "2014-09-18T02:48:26Z")
It occurred to me that I’ve heard it said and written both ways. Which is proper? ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-correct-to-say-butchers-knife-or-butcher-knife/698792/2 "2014-09-18T02:51:53Z")
I always hear it as “Butcher’s Knife.” But it might be subject to local variations, like “Coke,” “Soda,” “Soft Drink,” “Cola,” etc. Higher in the east and south. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-correct-to-say-butchers-knife-or-butcher-knife/698792/3 "2014-09-18T02:51:59Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > It occurred to me that I’ve heard it said and written both ways. Which is proper? Is one a type of knife while the other is a person’s property? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-correct-to-say-butchers-knife-or-butcher-knife/698792/4 "2014-09-18T02:53:35Z")
I don’t know, but I always say Butcher Knife. I’ve heard it the other way, not that often, it doesn’t sound wrong either way. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-correct-to-say-butchers-knife-or-butcher-knife/698792/5 "2014-09-18T11:02:10Z")
The main websites selling knives that pop up on google seem to all say butcher knife. At least on the first couple of pages that I could bother myself to look at. That’s how I always say it. And it’s a butcher block too. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-correct-to-say-butchers-knife-or-butcher-knife/698792/6 "2014-09-18T11:32:16Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > It occurred to me that I’ve heard it said and written both ways. Which is proper? When someone has come at me with one, I’ve never stayed long enough to find out. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-correct-to-say-butchers-knife-or-butcher-knife/698792/7 "2014-09-18T11:44:35Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > When someone has come at me with one, I’ve never stayed long enough to find out. 😃 What if he came at you with a banana? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-correct-to-say-butchers-knife-or-butcher-knife/698792/8 "2014-09-18T12:15:22Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > What if he came at you with a banana? How about a pointed stick? ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-correct-to-say-butchers-knife-or-butcher-knife/698792/9 "2014-09-18T13:42:03Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > What if he came at you with a banana? I’d thank him a bunch. > [@Telemark](#): > > How about a pointed stick? You sure do have cheap taste in kitchen cutlery. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-correct-to-say-butchers-knife-or-butcher-knife/698792/10 "2014-09-18T13:56:09Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > I’d thank him a bunch. > > You sure do have cheap taste in kitchen cutlery. 😃 🙂 I have only heard “butcher knife” in Arkansas and Tennessee. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-correct-to-say-butchers-knife-or-butcher-knife/698792/11 "2014-09-18T14:13:45Z")
I once stabbed a man in Tennessee with a Butcher’s Knife, just to hear him correct my use of apostrophes. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-correct-to-say-butchers-knife-or-butcher-knife/698792/12 "2014-09-18T14:15:47Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > I once stabbed a man in Tennessee with a Butcher’s Knife, just to hear him correct my use of apostrophes. 🙂 Very good ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-correct-to-say-butchers-knife-or-butcher-knife/698792/13 "2014-09-18T14:28:24Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > I once stabbed a man in Tennessee with a Butcher’s Knife, just to hear him correct my use of apostrophes. Yeah? Well, _ **I** _ once stabbed a man in Tennessee with a Butcher’s Knife, just to THANK him for correcting my use of apostrophes. Funny thing; he had a hole in his shirt for the knife to go in, almost like he was EXPECTING someone to stab him. Maybe it’s a Bible Belt thing; they’re always talking about the “_stabitude of gratitude_,” or some such nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-correct-to-say-butchers-knife-or-butcher-knife/698792/14 "2014-09-18T14:32:05Z")
Butcher’s knife. Butchers use boning knives, breaking knives, skinning knives, paring knives, carving knives, cleavers, etc… One knife could do it all but different designs makes butchering easier and more efficient. A “Butcher’s Knife” is a heavy bladed knife used primarily for butchering meat into separate sections (such as cutting a hind quarter into smaller sections) which are then separated by muscle texture and cookability. Roast meats and steak meats aren’t usually cooked together or by the same method (except for slow roasting an entire hind quarter). The thick, heavy blade of a butcher’s knife adds heft to provide optimal leverage for separating meat from bone. Butcher’s knife - > **[Cookware, Cooking Utensils, Kitchen Decor & Gourmet Foods | Williams Sonoma](https://www.williams-sonoma.com/)** > > Make Williams Sonoma your source for gourmet foods and professional-quality cookware. Choose small kitchen appliances, cooking utensils and decor that match your cooking and entertaining style. Curbside pickup available. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-correct-to-say-butchers-knife-or-butcher-knife/698792/15 "2014-09-18T15:05:20Z")
According to noted pedant and linguistician Jayne Cobb, it’s “butcher’s knife”: Zoë: Where’s River at now? Mal: In her room, which I’m thinking we bolt from the outside from now on. Wash: That’s a little extreme, isn’t it? Jayne: Anybody remember her coming at me with a butcher’s knife? Wash: Wacky fun. Jayne: You wanna go, little man? Wash: Only if it’s someplace with candlelight. Zoë: Sir, I know she’s unpredictable, but I don’t think she’d harm anyone. Jayne: Butcher’s knife! Zoë: Anyone we can’t spare. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-correct-to-say-butchers-knife-or-butcher-knife/698792/16 "2014-09-18T15:09:35Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > According to noted pedant and linguistician Jayne Cobb, it’s “butcher’s knife”: > > Zoë: Where’s River at now? > Mal: In her room, which I’m thinking we bolt from the outside from now on. > Wash: That’s a little extreme, isn’t it? > Jayne: Anybody remember her coming at me with a butcher’s knife? > Wash: Wacky fun. > Jayne: You wanna go, little man? > Wash: Only if it’s someplace with candlelight. > Zoë: Sir, I know she’s unpredictable, but I don’t think she’d harm anyone. > Jayne: Butcher’s knife! > Zoë: Anyone we can’t spare. A butcher’s knife could be any knife owned by a butcher. So it’s ambiguous if you use the possesive form. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-correct-to-say-butchers-knife-or-butcher-knife/698792/17 "2014-09-18T15:52:21Z")
I say butcher’s knife, by analogy with the chef’s knife - no-one ever says “chef knife” ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-correct-to-say-butchers-knife-or-butcher-knife/698792/18 "2014-09-18T16:32:49Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > no-one ever says “chef knife” […this method doesn’t work with a tomato…](http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=ginsu+chef+knife&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=32661330637&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15652442102293632326&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_4l823g38as_e) ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-correct-to-say-butchers-knife-or-butcher-knife/698792/19 "2014-09-18T17:10:40Z")
Butchers’ knife. It is a knife type that is used by a lot of butchers, not just one. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-correct-to-say-butchers-knife-or-butcher-knife/698792/20 "2014-09-18T17:16:14Z")
Don’t you all have fingers to type [google.com](http://google.com)? It is butcher knife. A butcher knife is a knife used to butcher. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-is-correct-to-say-butchers-knife-or-butcher-knife/698792.md?page=2)