For carbohydrate lover , nothing completes aThanksgivingmeal quite like stuffing — shovelful of bread , celery , mushroom , and other element that complement all of that joker protein .

Some people do n’t saystuffing , though . They saydressing . In these black clock time , knowing how to decently refer to the elephantine lump of insulin - spiking bread seems necessary . So what ’s the difference of opinion ?

Let ’s send away one hypothesis off the bat : binding and stuffingdo notcorrelate with how the side dish is prepare . A Republic of Turkey can bestuffed with dressing , and dressing can be process in a casserole stunner . Whether it ’s ever seen the inside of a raspberry is irrelevant , and anyone who tells you otherwise is awry and should be met with suspicion , if not unlimited derision .

Pictured: A delicious bowl of stuffing … or is it dressing?

The terms are really separated due to regional idiom . Dressingseems to be the favored descriptor for southern states like Mississippi , Tennessee , South Carolina , and Georgia , whilestuffingis preferred by Maine , New York , and other northern area . ( Some component part of Pennsylvania call itfilling , which is a bit too on the olfactory organ , but to each their own . )

Ifstuffingstemmed from the common practice of make full a turkey with carbs , why the division ? According toHuffPost , it may have been because Southerner considered the wordstuffingimpolite , and therefore never embraced it .

While you should go through no material difference in asking for dressing or dressing , when visiting relative it might be helpful to keep to their regionally - preferred word to deflect mental confusion . delight block yourselves .

Have you got a Big Question you ’d like us to answer ? If so , let us know by emailing us atbigquestions@mentalfloss.com .

A version of this story ran in 2018 ; it has been update for 2022 .