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This article reminds me to ask: why do Americans call pizza "pies"? Numerous times, the article refers to pizzas as if they are a variant of pies, and I have he

by enko 16y ago

This article reminds me to ask: why do Americans call pizza "pies"? Numerous times, the article refers to pizzas as if they are a variant of pies, and I have heard it elsewhere, too. To me, an Australian, a pizza and a pie are completely different things. The idea of calling a pizza a pie is ludicrous, and vice versa. Anyone care to explain?

Samuel_Michon 16y ago
pizza-pie - 1935, from Italian pizza, originally "cake, tart, pie" http://dictionary.reference.com/etymology/pizza-pie http://dictionary.reference.com/etymology/pizza-pie For the story of how pizza was introduced in the US: http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/2006/2/2006_2_30.shtml http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/2006/2/...
Vivtek 16y ago
As a Hoosier (a person from Indiana) I've always thought the same thing. We never called a pizza a pie. When I was young, though, I saw the term "pie" used in a Nancy Drew novel, and I've seen the phrase "pizza pie" as well. Obviously they're related, and equally obviously there's some regional variation, but ... whatever the region is, Indiana is outside it.
erikpukinskis 16y ago
When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie? That's amoré.
- iuguy 16y ago
  When you're swimming in the sea and an eel bites your knee, that's a Moray.
  - jasonkester 16y ago
    When a guy's riding by on a bike in a tie, that's a Morman.
brk 16y ago
They're both round and relatively flat (in proportion to their diameter). For "deep dish" pizzas especially they are even baked in a similar pan. C'mon, it's not THAT much of a stretch.
tdoggette 16y ago
If you say "pie", you mean a pie. If you say "I'd like a 10-inch pie" in a pizza place, you mean a pizza pie. It's context.
istari 16y ago
Because when Marco Polo returned from China, he brought with him fantastic stories of meat pies, mythical pastries with the meat INSIDE of the bread. How did it get in there? Nobody knows. Many tried, but none could discover the secret. Defeated, the Italians put the filling on top of the bread, and so invented pizza. According to my dad, at least.

by enko 16y ago

Samuel_Michon 16y ago

pizza-pie - 1935, from Italian pizza, originally "cake, tart, pie" http://dictionary.reference.com/etymology/pizza-pie http://dictionary.reference.com/etymology/pizza-pie For the story of how pizza was introduced in the US: http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/2006/2/2006_2_30.shtml http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/2006/2/...

Vivtek 16y ago

As a Hoosier (a person from Indiana) I've always thought the same thing. We never called a pizza a pie. When I was young, though, I saw the term "pie" used in a Nancy Drew novel, and I've seen the phrase "pizza pie" as well. Obviously they're related, and equally obviously there's some regional variation, but ... whatever the region is, Indiana is outside it.

erikpukinskis 16y ago

When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie? That's amoré.

iuguy 16y ago
When you're swimming in the sea and an eel bites your knee, that's a Moray.
- jasonkester 16y ago
  When a guy's riding by on a bike in a tie, that's a Morman.

brk 16y ago

They're both round and relatively flat (in proportion to their diameter). For "deep dish" pizzas especially they are even baked in a similar pan. C'mon, it's not THAT much of a stretch.

tdoggette 16y ago

If you say "pie", you mean a pie. If you say "I'd like a 10-inch pie" in a pizza place, you mean a pizza pie. It's context.

istari 16y ago

Because when Marco Polo returned from China, he brought with him fantastic stories of meat pies, mythical pastries with the meat INSIDE of the bread. How did it get in there? Nobody knows. Many tried, but none could discover the secret. Defeated, the Italians put the filling on top of the bread, and so invented pizza. According to my dad, at least.