is a cucumber a fruit?

Originally posted by FMF
So there is ~ in your view ~ willful pretense on the part of the Cucumber?

Originally posted by HandyAndy
Willful pretense is beyond the capability of the average cucumber.

Interestingly enough, this exact question was significant enough in the 19th century to make it all the way to the Supreme Court here in the states.
John Nix & Company held that the Port of New York was illegally collecting tariffs on tomatoes on account of then-collector Edward Hedden's incorrect interpretation of the Tariff Act of March 03, 1883.
Nix maintained that, like the cucumber, botanically, the tomato is a fruit, and therefore not subject to the taxes imposed on vegetables (part of the act was intended to encourage more imports of fruit while discouraging vegetables from coming in from outside the country).
In Nix v. Hedden 1893, the Supreme Court found that the use of the thing determined what the thing was above the definition of the thing.
Nix lost the case because people eat a fruit weighed more than the dictionary or technical journals described the same.
The case has been cited several times on account of the same principle, i.e., common use over technical precision.

Very pragmatic way of looking at things.

Trick of the trade, if it doesn't feature in the hat of Carmen Miranda in "The Lady in the Tutti Frutti Hat" then it isn't a fruit.

Cucumber is close relative to strawberries.

Originally posted by FMF
Both your posts so far have sought to smear cucumbers. First the accusation of masquerading. And now questioning their capabilities.

Originally posted by HandyAndy
Neither is a "smear" except in the mind of a horticultural paranoid.

Surely it should be left to the individual cucumber to decide which they would prefer to be, or rather how they perceive themselves to be. After all, every cucumber is different; some may prefer not to so superficially categorized, and many I am sure feel more 'fruity' on some days than others. These are complex issues, which cannot and should not be dictated by any person or persons who is or are not themselves a cucumber.

Originally posted by Indonesia Phil
Surely it should be left to the individual cucumber to decide which they would prefer to be, or rather how they perceive themselves to be. After all, every cucumber is different; some may prefer not to so superficially categorized, and many I am sure feel more 'fruity' on some days than others. These are complex issues, which cannot and should not be dictated by any person or persons who is or are not themselves a cucumber.

Originally posted by Ghost of a Duke
Sir,

Kindly desist in smearing the good name of cucumbers.

Yours sincerely

Professor Nutty
From the Horticultural Society of Paranoia.

Where I live, the zucchini is far superior to the cucumber...its cousin. Zucchini can hide in just about any casserole, stuffing, or bread without its whereabouts being detected. It grows in great numbers and to quite large sizes. My first week as a bride, 61 years ago, I was ignorant of its existence until that first day shopping for groceries. I fancied squash for supper. Bought this elongated thing labelled "squash" at the market, placed it in the oven and honestly believed upon sampling it that I had baked a giant cucumber It was years later that I got it figured out. 😛

Originally posted by Kewpie
Doesn't matter what you call it - if you can eat it, it's food.

Strawberries are not berries and the "seeds" on the outside are not seeds.
USA is the world's largest strawberry producer.
My wife is the world's largest strawberry consumer.

Guys, its not a fruit. Wanna know why?
A) Have you ever seen a cucumber in a fruit salad?
B) Can it be a starburst flavor?

Originally posted by Andrew Kern
Guys, its not a fruit. Wanna know why?
A) Have you ever seen a cucumber in a fruit salad?
B) Can it be a starburst flavor?