I think pretty much anything can be a salad including things like potato salad, macaroni salad, tuna salad, taco salad, 7 layer salad, and salad salads like caesar, tossed, etc. Think very general blanket old-lady-pot-luck terms, not clear distinctions. (No offense to any old-lady-pot-luckers who may or may not be present, of course). And the strawberry pretzel salad is always in a rectangular pan, like a 9x13. Never in a pie dish.