Tigers, Giraffes and complex linguistic problems

Today, Oli from Bath University sent me this link, with the quote "thought this would be right up your street".

Why we are renaming Tiger Bread to Giraffe Bread

It was up my street it turns out, but for all the wrong reasons. The article concerned talks about my favourite type of bread, 'Tiger Bread'.

My love of Tiger Bread is fairly vocal, as I have been known to refer to it as 'awesome bread' and make verbal attacks on those who eat regular bread. I often wonder why all bread is not tiger bread, I mean, it is superior in every way. The tough and slighty crumbly crust on the outside with that lovely rice paste flavour, coupled with a soft and aerated centre makes any sandwich a thousand times better.

The article stems from a letter from a small girl who asked why it was called Tiger Bread, when the pattern on the bread more similar to Giraffe skin. A valid point I suppose. However, I personally think it spoils tradition a bit. Here is a brief history lesson on tiger bread.

The name 'tiger bread' appears to originate from the Netherlands where they have called it 'tijgerbrood' since the 1970s. I personally would class it as a traditional name, given it is 40 years old.

The term 'Tiger bread' is in fact a linguistics phenomenon known as a 'misnomer' A misnomer is a term that suggests an interpretation of something that we know to be untrue. In the most usual case, it is an older name for something that continues to be used. Misnomers exist all around us, and the vast majority of us use them all the time without realising.

• The 'Mince Pie' used to be made of minced meat and about 10 other ingredients, and had religious connotations during the christmas period. We all know there is no 'mince' in a modern day mince pie, but we still call them mince pies.
• An obvious one is pencil 'lead'. We all know that nowadays they contain graphite, because lead was found to be poisonous. We still refer to the 'lead' in your pencil though.
• We still call Steamrollers by that name, regardless of the method of propulsion- which is obviously usually petrol.
• We still talk about 'dialling' numbers, despite the fact none of us have old rotary dial phones anymore...
• All video games and computer programs still use the term 'loading', even though that was a term used back when programs were a system of punched holes in a piece of paper that got 'loaded' into a hopper...

I could literally go on for more that I know of, but I think I have made my point. If people started telling me that I wasn't allowed to 'iron' my clothes because irons aren't made of iron, or that I had to 'press' the numbers into my phone, I'd be annoyed.

The name TIGER bread gives you thoughts of strong, powerful bread that is cool and awesome, with a combination of stealth, speed, and a primal attractiveness.

On the contrary, the name GIRAFFE bread suggests that although it is a good example of evolution, it is flimsy, often has circulation problems and has been known to break its legs by mistake if it falls down.

I mean, look how they sleep! How stupid is that.

Sigh... at least it is only Sainburys that have changed the name. I know tiger bread looks more like giraffe skin, but I personally hope it doesn't catch on for old times sake. I'm glad I can still get my Tiger Bread from ASDA for the time being!