C1 Definition Of 'Kiwi'
Description
This article is from the New Zealand FAQ, by Phil Stuart-Jones and Lin Nah with numerous contributions by others.
C1 Definition Of 'Kiwi'
For a 'definitive' definition of what a 'kiwi' is (and isn't), here is
pete@bignode's contribution. Americans take particular note... :-)
"The kiwi is a rare flightless (& very much protected) bird native to New
Zealand, and is a symbol of NZ in much the same way that the bald eagle is
a symbol of the US. "Kiwi" is also a (generally affectionate) informal
term for a New Zealander. The pulpy green fruit with the brown skin that
Americans call "kiwi" is known everywhere else in the world as "kiwifruit",
and not all NZers realise that Americans don't know the correct name for
it.
"If you tell a New Zealander that you ate a *kiwi*, you are unlikely to be
accused of cannibalism, but if the NZer doesn't realise that you mean a
*kiwifruit*, you will probably shock & offend them (what would your
reaction be if I told you that I ate a bald eagle?). If they *do* realise
that you mean a *kiwifruit*, they will probably just be annoyed. If you
can't understand why they should be annoyed, think of something that
America introduced to the world & imagine your reaction if we insisted on
ignoring the name that you gave it, & called it "bald eagle" or "stars and
stripes" instead."
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