Word Choice – Do We Say ‘Comb of Bananas’ and ‘A Bunch of Bananas’?

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I saw some websites (written by a Vietnamese English teacher) saying that the following picture is "a bunch of bananas"

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And the below picture is "a comb of bananas"

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Is that correct?

Best Answer

While "comb" might be used by banana farmers, and could be used in some locations, it is not common. (This native speaker had never heard the expression)

A bunch of bananas is the common general phrase.

Others which seem understandable to me are "a hand of bananas" (for a bunch that is rather smaller than the comb in your picture) With about five bananas, a hand of bananas is the size that is commonly sold in supermarkets. I wouldn't have a particular word for the whole stem of bananas in the top picture, as bananas are not generally available in such large amounts. (Though "stem of bananas" would seem to make sense, I've just made that up)

So use "bunch" but you might occasionally hear "hand" or even "comb".

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