Cornershot

To submit a CornerShot

The Roanoke Times welcomes CornerShot submissions from its readers. Here are the guidelines:

Length: about 200 words
Topic: CornerShots can run the gamut, but we generally prefer unique and clever observations on the human experience.
No poetry, please.
Email your submission to extra@roanoke.com with your full name and hometown and “CornerShot” in the subject line. You can also mail submissions to Kathy Lu, CornerShot, The Roanoke Times, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, VA 24010.
Submissions are subject to editing.

1. 41-vehicle wreck ties up traffic Sunday on I-81 in Rockbridge County

2. Virginia Tech football roster has holes on picture day

3. Medicare penalties hit hospitals in Roanoke, New River Valleys

4. Microfestivus beer event gets downtown Roanoke hopping

5. McFarling: 2 little numbers are a big hurdle for Virginia Tech football

6. DAN CASEY: Copter cost still stirring up dust

7. Arrest made in case of missing Nelson County teen

8. Roanoke farmers markets making local foods more accessible

9. Virginia attorney general's office grows under Ken Cuccinelli

10. Man's drowning is 5th in Lynchburg area

Carol Goad | A reader in Roanoke

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Do you say tuna or tuna fish?

My children work with a fellow who says it is redundant to say tuna fish.

Wondering why we add fish to tuna, I did a little research and discovered there is a prickly pear cactus called tuna, but I doubt we needed to distinguish between the fish and a tropical plant.

I’ve asked a couple of people why they say tuna fish and was told, “It’s on the can.” It isn’t now. Did it used to be?

There are also numerous other kinds of fish that we identify by adding “fish” — cat, cod, shell, lion, trigger, sword, sun, cow.

In pursuit of this trivia, I still am mystified.

However “Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary” and “The American Heritage School Dictionary” read: “tuna, also called tuna fish.”

Monday, August 12, 2013