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April 2, 2024
Restaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“Please burger, cheese” (restaurant order, a spoonerism for “Cheese burger, please”)

At a fast food restaurant's drive thru, a person might want to say "Cheeseburger, please," but it might come out as "Pleaseburger, cheese" (or "Please burger,…

August 23, 2015
Restaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“Please drink responsibly, but tip recklessly”

"Please drink responsibly, but tip recklessly" is a saying at many bars and restaurants. "Drink responsibly, tip recklessly" has been printed on many shirts. The jocular saying…

April 19, 2024
Banking/Finance/InsuranceMedia/Newspapers/Magazines/InternetRestaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food StoresWork/Businesses

“Please lower the cost of groceries. I’m not built for OnlyFans”

"Please lower the gas prices. I'm not built for OnlyFans" and "Please lower the cost of living. I'm not built for OnlyFans" are jocular sayings that have been printed…

April 2, 2024
Restaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“Pleaseburger, cheese” (restaurant order, a spoonerism for “Cheeseburger, please”)

At a fast food restaurant's drive thru, a person might want to say "Cheeseburger, please," but it might come out as "Pleaseburger, cheese" (or "Please burger,…

March 5, 2006
Restaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“Pop. 208 Elev. 100 ft.” (Burritoville)

Burritoville is a Mexican food chain that began in 1992 on 78th Street and First Avenue. There is no town of Burritoville, but each Burritoville restuarant declares a population of 208 and an…

February 9, 2020
Restaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“Preschool rules and bar rules are the same. You pee your pants, you go home”

"Preschool rules and bar rules are the same. You pee your pants, you go home" is a jocular saying that has been printed on many images. "Nursery school rules and bar rules are the…

July 2, 2026
Restaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“Pro Tip: If you are at a nice restaurant and something on the menu is listed as ‘Market Price’, be sure to use a limit order to get a better deal”

Restaurants often put some items, such as seafood, as "market price" (abbreviated "MKT"). That menu item is usually very expensive. "You know a restaurant expensive when a…

August 3, 2026
Restaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“Pronouncing Bojangles like Los Angeles”

Bojangles is an American regional chain of fast food restaurants. "Bojangles" is not pronounced like "Los Angeles," but some people do that as a joke. "Think I’m gonna…

March 30, 2020
Restaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“Put a different drink in every room of the house and pretend you’re on a pub crawl”

The 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic resulted in many bars closing and in home quarantines. "If you like a pub crawl on Paddy’s Day why not do a room crawl. A drink or 2 in every room in your…

August 16, 2020
Restaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“Putting on a mask to walk ten feet through a restaurant…”

The 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic resulted in some requirements to wear face masks. People were required to wear a face mask to enter a restaurant, only to take off the mask to eat. An explanation…

March 22, 2026
Restaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“Pythagoras walks into a bar…” (bar joke)

"A guy walks into a bar..." is a typical form of what has been called the "bar joke." A Pythagorean theorem version is: "Pythagoras walks into a bar and says, 'Which…

November 4, 2017
Restaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“Quasimodo walks into a bar…” (bar joke)

"A guy walks into a bar..." is a typical form of what has been called the "bar joke." A version involving the fictional character Quasimodo is: "Quasimodo walks into a bar…

January 29, 2021
Restaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“Remember what the valet who parked your car looks like. We don’t have valet parking”

"Remember what the valet who parked your car looks like because we don't have valet parking" is a jocular saying that has been printed on several signs. The sign was posted on…

October 1, 2019
Restaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“Restaurant idea: Chicken joint named ‘Icarus’ Hot Wings’”

In Greek mythology, Icarus obtained wings, but flew too close to the sun and they melted. An Icarus joke has been printed on several images that Icarus probably wouldn't have liked "hot…

May 9, 2023
Restaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“Restaurant toilets are so dangerous! So many of my dates have gone to use them and vanished!”

"Restaurant toilets are so dangerous! So many of my dates have gone to use them and vanished!" is a jocular saying that has been printed on many images. It's the the problem of…

March 9, 2021
Restaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“Restaurants always use ‘crispy’ as opposed to ‘fried’ to make it sound healthier”

Does "crispy" sound healthier than "fried"? "I get the crispy chicken salad to make fried chicken sound healthier" was posted on Twitter by Wilson E on November 16,…

March 8, 2018
Restaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“Restaurants are just gas stations for people”

Cars need fuel, but people need a certain fuel as well. "Starbucks is like the gas station for people" was posted on Twitter on September 22, 2009. "Coffee shops are like gas…

October 10, 2022
Restaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“Restaurants omit pants in ‘no shoes, no shirt, no service’ because they serve bottomless brunch”

A "bottomless brunch" is a brunch that has a fixed price, for many dishes of food and unlimited drinks. It does not mean that the diners do not wear pants, but there are jokes.…

July 2, 2023
Restaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“Restaurants place drinks on the last page of the menu, but drinks are ordered first”

Most restaurants list drinks of the last page of a menu, but drink orders are usually taken first. "Drinks are the first things you order in a restaurant. Why are they always on the last page…

August 14, 2013
Restaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“Restaurants where they wait on you hand and foot charge you an arm and a leg”

Something that "costs an arm and a leg" is something that is expensive. A place that caters to customers "hand and foot" is a place that satisfies all of its customers'…

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About the Website and Editor

BARRY POPIK is a contributor to the Oxford English Dictionary, Dictionary of American Regional English, Historical Dictionary of American Slang, Yale Book of Quotations and Dictionary of Modern Proverbs. Since 1990 he has also been a regular contributor to Gerald Cohen's Comments on Etymology.

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