On Sat, 01 Mar 2014 09:31:16 -0700, Janet Bostwick
> wrote:

>On Sat, 01 Mar 2014 05:33:33 -0800, sf > wrote:
>
>>On Fri, 28 Feb 2014 19:03:06 -0500, S Viemeister
> wrote:
>>
>>> I've been in a number of NJ diners where the waitress asks "white or
>>> wheat". To many people wheat=brown - they don't seem to understand the
>>> the white stuff is also wheat...
>>
>>That's not why. Wheat is just an acceptable shortening of whole
>>wheat. That's all there is to it. The options used to be white,
>>wheat or rye, except they would say "whitewheatorrye". I imagine it's
>>a real tongue twister to say whole wheat so quickly in a list like
>>that. In any case, I don't hear the rye option very often anymore.
>>They have sourdough and/or English muffins on the list in place of rye
>>now.
>
>Besides which, white or wheat has been diner speak since the 1930s at
>least. You're not going to change it now.

But they don't ask white or wheat *bread*.