Newsable: would a chicken wing by any other name taste as yum?

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Just what we needed to kick off Tuesday: a good old-fashioned brouhaha over what constitutes a chicken wing.

It’s a question which has (probably) kept philosophers in gainful employment for centuries: what makes a chicken wing a chicken wing?

In answering, you might want to get all technical and say something facetious like: “Emile, you idiot, a wing is literally part of a chicken’s anatomy, it is a defined thing, this is such a stupid question it’s like asking us what makes an ear an ear.”

And hey, I get it poindexter, you’re smart, calm the farm.

But let me ask you this: does a wing have to have bones?

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Well, not if you’re US fast food chain Buffalo Wild Wings. The restaurant has hit the headlines because it’s been selling a product it describes as ‘boneless chicken wings’. But – get this – the wings aren’t wings at all, according to serial litigant Aimen Halim.

Halim has filed a class-action lawsuit against Buffalo Hot Wings arguing the ‘wings’ are not in fact de-boned wings, but are made of chicken breast and therefore closer in composition to chicken nuggets.

Insider.com quotes Halim in documents suggesting Buffalo Hot Wings is violating its customers’ expectations.

“This clear-cut case of false advertising should not be permitted, as consumers should be able to rely on the plain meaning of a product’s name and receive what they are promised,” he writes.

Insider.com says Halim is seeking punitive damages, attorney’s fees, a jury trial, and any other damages a judge would consider proper.

It’s worth mentioning he has filed similar lawsuits in the past – one against Tom’s Wicked Fresh Mouthwash, challenging its claim to be ‘natural’, and another against the recycling bag manufacturer Hefty, alleging false advertising because its bags are not themselves recyclable.

The Hefty lawsuit was dismissed last year.

Of course, while this lawsuit might sound vexatious, it’s worth noting that the USA does have more liberal laws when it comes to product descriptions than many other countries around the world.

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