At the supermarket:
Correct "Which flavor icecream should we get?"
Incorrect "Which flavor of shampoo should I get?
What word could I use to talk about a particular choice among a collection of different... well... "flavors"?
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1Editions, variants, and their synonyms. What research have you done and what did you find? Flavours work, too– NVZ ♦Commented Jun 3, 2016 at 4:51
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Choice, kind, style, brand - you need to provide more information to narrow down the options. Did you look up a thesaurus, e.g. thesaurus.com?– Chappo Hasn't ForgottenCommented Jun 3, 2016 at 10:57
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It's perfectly understandable if you use the word "flavor" even when talking about some item that won't be tasted ;) for example, in programming, the term "regex flavor" is often used to refer to the version/edition/implementation/engine of the regular expression grammar/syntax.– Keith HallCommented Jun 3, 2016 at 11:18
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merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flavor definition 3.a. is pretty generic already– Pete KirkhamCommented Jun 3, 2016 at 13:08
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It depends on the type of information you’re trying to elicit. You could ask, “What type of shampoo should I get?” if you were looking for answers such as, “dandruff control” or “color protection” or “oily hair”. OR you could ask, “What brand of shampoo should I get?” If you were looking for answers like, “Pert” or “Head and Shoulders” or “Finesse”. Of course, “What kind of shampoo should I get?” allows either type of answer.– JimCommented Jun 4, 2016 at 2:52
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3 Answers
Normally, I am looking to be more explicit and discerning about which specific word or phrase to express something about some one thing among a mass of vaguely related "stuff." In this regard, I find myself quite amused to be headed in a different direction.
Kind…
One way to get some response in a qualitative query involving the acquiring of specific goods requiring some manner of clarification before investing resources is to enquire, "What kind?"
I would probably opt for "type".
something distinguishable as a variety
For example:
- What type of ice cream is your favourite?
- You bought shampoo? What type?
- There were lots of types of beer to try.
You could use taste.
Individual preference
This includes both gustation and liking.
"Pick your taste from these shampoos/ice cream."
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1That’s not really how you use that word. you could ask, “what’s your taste in ice cream?” and you might pick something according to your taste(s).” But you don’t *pick your taste– JimCommented Jun 3, 2016 at 13:57
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If you've ever tasted shampoo, you know it's something you don't want to taste ;) "taste" in the way you use it could end up getting the desired information, but it's not quite used the way I'm looking for. Commented Jun 9, 2016 at 20:48