what's a pie?

When the word pie is mentioned, I first think of a dessert. It might be banana-cream pie, or Boston cream pie, or perhaps one made with a custard filling. Hmmm... pie. That's what pie means to me.

On a separate note is pizza. Hmmm... pizza. I love pizza. Hawaiian pizza. Pepperoni pizza. Vegetarian pizza. Not so much chicken on pizza, but that's another story. What throws me off however is when somebody says pizza pie.

It got so bad hearing yet somebody else say "pizza pie" (on the Food Network last night) that I actually looked it up in the dictionary just now.

And what did I find?
pie 1: a meat dish baked with biscuit or pastry crust 2: a dessert consisting of a filling (as of fruit or custard) in a pastry shell or topped with pastry or both.
(according to Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary - 11th edition)

I wasn't expecting a different definition let alone for it to be the first definition. So I guess from now on, I will have to think of pizza as a pie.


But not a pie pie.