The sign at the grocery store said “can goods,” not “canned goods.” That’s what a listener told Professor Anne Curzan at a book talk she gave recently in Charlevoix.
Some usage commentators would say “canned goods” is the only correct spelling, but “can goods” is out there. In fact, soon after the aforementioned book talk, Professor Curzan noticed that the northern Michigan grocery store where she shops also has an aisle with a sign reading “can goods.”
The noun “can” is quite old and goes all the way back to Old English as a word for a container, typically made of metal. The adjective form “canned” is a chiefly North American term, since British speakers say “tinned.”
By the mid-19th century, “canned” referred to something hermetically sealed in an air-tight metal container, just as we use it today. A quick stroll through any grocery store will turn up all sorts of canned goods including canned fruit, canned vegetables, canned dogfood, etc.
Some things come in cans, but not all of us can call them “canned.” For example, do you ever talk about “canned beer”? Some of you must, because that phrase is definitely out there. “Can beer” is out there too, though “canned beer” is the more common of the two.
Looking at “canned goods” from a phonological perspective, it’s not hard to see where “can goods” comes from. “Canned goods” has a consonant cluster in the middle, with an “n,” a “duh,” and a “guh” sound.
We tend to simplify things like this when we say them fast, so “canned goods” comes out “can goods.” From there, it’s just a matter of someone spelling it the way it sounds.
Interestingly, this simplification does appear to be happening with some other liquids that come in containers. For more on that, listen to the audio above.
