# Why Tuna Fish? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 26, 2007, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-tuna-fish/416975 "2007-08-26T05:56:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2007, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-tuna-fish/416975/1 "2007-08-26T05:56:23Z")
In Canada, and presumably the rest of the world, we simply say “tuna,” 'cause, like we know it’s a fish. So, why “tuna fish” in the U.S? It’s not like you say “chicken bird,” or “pork chop pig,” or anything. What gives? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Rosewater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/898d66/32.png) [@Mr.Rosewater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Rosewater)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2007, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-tuna-fish/416975/2 "2007-08-26T06:09:58Z")
Because it allows us to trot out the old line “You can tune a piano, but you can’t tuna fish.” Other than that, no idea. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2007, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-tuna-fish/416975/3 "2007-08-26T06:26:35Z")
Curse you Mr. Rosewater for beating me to that! In Thai, everything – including sharks and squid – is such-and-such fish (or fish such-and-such, since fish – “pla” – is placed before the type it is. Oddly, they have ham here, and while pork has long been eaten, ham itself is fairly recent and considered a Western delicacy. It is without fail called “mu ham,” or “pig ham” (“mu” means pig and pork both. It’s pronounced like we say “moo,” as in what a cow says. That leads to no end of mirth when you first get here and learn it. Then you get over it.) ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2007, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-tuna-fish/416975/4 "2007-08-26T06:27:41Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Rosewater] Because it allows us to trot out the old line “You can tune a piano, but you can’t tuna fish.” Other than that, no idea. [/QUOTE] And a damned fine REO Speedwagon album it was… ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2007, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-tuna-fish/416975/5 "2007-08-26T06:58:22Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Rosewater] Because it allows us to trot out the old line “You can tune a piano, but you can’t tuna fish.” Other than that, no idea. [/QUOTE] Of course you can tuna fish. Otherwise it would go bad sitting on my shelf. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2007, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-tuna-fish/416975/6 "2007-08-26T07:20:16Z")
…and why Buffalo wings ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2007, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-tuna-fish/416975/7 "2007-08-26T07:29:28Z")
…Because they were first popular in Buffalo, New York. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2007, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-tuna-fish/416975/8 "2007-08-26T07:38:13Z")
But why’s it called “Chicken by the Sea”? Or is it “in the Sea”? I forget. Anyway, I know it’s tuna, but it says “chicken”. ---
**Author:** ![dbuzman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de0a6/32.png) [@dbuzman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dbuzman)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2007, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-tuna-fish/416975/9 "2007-08-26T07:42:17Z")
[QUOTE=cochrane] But why’s it called “Chicken by the Sea”? Or is it “in the Sea”? I forget. Anyway, I know it’s tuna, but it says “chicken”. [/QUOTE] It’s Chicken of the Sea. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2007, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-tuna-fish/416975/10 "2007-08-26T07:42:23Z")
[QUOTE=cochrane] But why’s it called “Chicken by the Sea”? Or is it “in the Sea”? I forget. Anyway, I know it’s tuna, but it says “chicken”. [/QUOTE] That’s a StarKist® Tuna trademark “Chicken of the sea.” ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2007, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-tuna-fish/416975/11 "2007-08-26T08:00:46Z")
Starkist and Chicken Of The Sea are competitors. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2007, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-tuna-fish/416975/12 "2007-08-26T08:03:12Z")
[QUOTE=fishbicycle] …Because they were first popular in Buffalo, New York. [/QUOTE] As a Brit how the hell was I expected to know that 😃 ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2007, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-tuna-fish/416975/13 "2007-08-26T08:16:13Z")
[QUOTE=chowder] As a Brit how the hell was I expected to know that 😃 [/QUOTE] You ask the dope, of course. oh, and BTW I usually just say tuna ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2007, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-tuna-fish/416975/14 "2007-08-26T08:19:44Z")
[QUOTE=outlierrn] BTW I usually just say tuna [/QUOTE] 1. Tuna Sandwich 2. Tuna Fish Sandwich ? To totally pull something from my behind, I’ll guess that tuna (for sandwiches) is sold in cans and that the most popular brand was labeled “Tuna Fish”. I base that on exactly no knowledge given as I don’t eat tuna and have never bought a can of it. I do call it tuna unless talking about a sandwich though. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2007, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-tuna-fish/416975/15 "2007-08-26T09:16:59Z")
[QUOTE=Leaffan] That’s a StarKist® Tuna trademark “Chicken of the sea.” [/QUOTE] That really is a gross image. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2007, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-tuna-fish/416975/16 "2007-08-26T10:10:08Z")
[QUOTE=dbuzman] It’s Chicken of the Sea. [/QUOTE] [Whooooooooosh!!!](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_of_the_Sea#Popular_references) ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2007, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-tuna-fish/416975/17 "2007-08-26T11:02:52Z")
It’s context dependent, isn’t it? If someone asks “so what kind of fish is ‘ahi’?” I think most Americans would answer “it’s yellowfina tuna,” not “it’s yellowfin tuna fish.” In everyday usage, I think it has to do with meter. “What’s for lunch?” “Tuna” … just kind of trails off. “Tuna fish” has two beats, at least. (I guess those would be “feet,” in poetry-talk, but I’m not going to pretend I remember any of that stuff from high school English class.) Think about it: you can say “tuna fish sandwich” or “tuna sandwich,” and either one falls fine on the ear, but did you ever hear anyone talk about a “tuna fish noodle casserole”? Heck, no. A “tuna noodle casserole” has four nice beats to it. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2007, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-tuna-fish/416975/18 "2007-08-26T11:16:31Z")
Seems to me that the word ‘fish’ after tuna is superflous to requirements. You can hardly have a tuna chicken salad can you? A tuna AND chicken yes ---
**Author:** ![Labtrash](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/labtrash/32/528_2.png) [@Labtrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labtrash)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2007, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-tuna-fish/416975/19 "2007-08-26T12:14:42Z")
[QUOTE=cochrane] [Whooooooooosh!!!](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_of_the_Sea#Popular_references) [/QUOTE] snerk 😃 :smack: ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2007, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-tuna-fish/416975/20 "2007-08-26T12:20:03Z")
“Pizza pie” is the one that still looks odd to my eyes. Still, I guess it’s not uncommon. A lot of languages seem to say things like “red colour”, or “pork meat”. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-tuna-fish/416975.md?page=2)