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June 11, 2017
Restaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“When I order pizza online and there’s a ‘Notes’ box, I put ‘Ring bell, Cross moat, SLAY DRAGON’”

An online food delivery order often has a "notes" or "special instructions" space, so the ordering party can inform the delivery person of the procedure at that address (such as…

November 12, 2022
Restaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“When I was a kid “the server is down” meant your waiter was depressed”

"When I was a kid "the server is down" meant your waiter was depressed" is a jocular saying that has been printed on several images. "Ha! RT @CancerIsAwesome: When I was a…

March 1, 2024
Restaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“When I’m at Chipotle, l always wait until after the employee puts the first scoop of chicken on my burrito…”

When someone at a food establishment orders one scoop of something, it's often a large scoop. However, when they order two scoops, they often get two smaller scoops. To prevent this, they…

June 17, 2021
Restaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“When I’m at the store and getting something, I grab the one behind it…”

"When I'm at the store and getting something, I grab the one behind it because I think there's something wrong with the one in front" is a saying that has been printed on many…

August 25, 2022
Restaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“When my wife sends me to the supermarket to get cucumbers…” (NSFW joke)

A joke about buying cucumbers suggests that it's better to identify one's sexual practice than to possibly imply that one is a vegan. "When my girlfriend sends me to the supermarket…

May 19, 2024
Food/DrinkHotelsRestaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“When restaurants/hotels have really large sets of gravy boats, I hope the staff refer to it as the Gravy Navy”

Gravy boats (sauce boats) are not boats that sail on water, but there are jokes. "If you had enough gravy boats would you have a gravy navy?" was posted on X/Twitter by John…

August 28, 2026
Buildings/Housing/ParksFood/DrinkRestaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“When termites eat out, do they order the house salad?”

A “house salad” is the regular salad of an American restaurant. It’s not made of a house or served to a house, but there are jokes. "What kind of salad do termites eat? House salad"…

May 23, 2020
Restaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“When the cave people went to the cave bar and asked for a drink on the rocks, they meant it”

"On the rocks" (on ice) is usually not taken literally -- except in some jokes. The American television sitcom New Girl, the episode "What About Fred" that originally aired on…

April 1, 2024
Restaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“When The Most Interesting Man in the World eats at a restaurant, the waiter tips him”

"When [X] eats at a restaurant, the waiter/waitress tips him" is a joke said about several powerful people, including American martial artist and actor Chuck Norris and Dos Equis beer…

April 1, 2024
Restaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“When The Most Interesting Man in the World eats at a restaurant, the waitress tips him”

"When [X] eats at a restaurant, the waiter/waitress tips him" is a joke said about several powerful people, including American martial artist and actor Chuck Norris and Dos Equis beer…

October 13, 2025
Food/DrinkRestaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“When you order a slice of pizza from a pizza place, you’re sharing a pizza with a group of strangers”

When you buy a slice of pizza and other people eat the other slices, are you "sharing" a pizza? This was posted on Reddit -- Showerthoughts on September 16, 2014: "When you order a…

February 1, 2024
Restaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“When you said ‘friends with benefits,’ I assumed you owned a coffee shop”

"When you said 'friends with benefits,' I assumed you owned a liquor store" -- or taco truck, or coffee shop -- is a jocular saying that has been printed on many images.…

February 1, 2024
Restaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“When you said ‘friends with benefits,’ I assumed you owned a liquor store”

"When you said 'friends with benefits,' I assumed you owned a liquor store" -- or taco truck, or coffee shop -- is a jocular saying that has been printed on many images.…

February 1, 2024
Restaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“When you said ‘friends with benefits,’ I assumed you owned a taco truck”

"When you said 'friends with benefits,' I assumed you owned a liquor store" -- or taco truck, or coffee shop -- is a jocular saying that has been printed on many images.…

February 3, 2026
Food/DrinkRestaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“When you split a dessert the waiter should bring two forks and one of those chess clocks you smack to let the other person know it’s their turn”

When people share a restaurant dessert, they often take turns eating it. But who eats first? When does this person stop for the next person to eat? This was posted on X/Twitter by Herschel…

October 23, 2025
Food/DrinkRestaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food StoresTransportation

“When you think that all is lost, that there is no hope left, remember the lobsters in the tank at the Titanic’s restaurant”

The RMS Titanic hit an iceberg and sunk on April 15, 1912. This was a tragedy for the human passengers, but, as a joke goes, a miracle to the lobsters in the ship's restaurant tank.…

October 23, 2025
Food/DrinkRestaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food StoresTransportation

“When you think there’s no hope left, remember the lobsters in the tank at the Titanic’s restaurant”

The RMS Titanic hit an iceberg and sunk on April 15, 1912. This was a tragedy for the human passengers, but, as a joke goes, a miracle to the lobsters in the ship's restaurant tank.…

November 9, 2015
Restaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“When you wait for a waiter in a restaurant, aren’t you the waiter?”

"When you wait for a water in a restaurant, aren't you the waiter?" is a one-line saying that has been printed on many images. "When we wait for a waiter in restaurant,…

January 27, 2026
Restaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food StoresWork/Businesses

“When you’re at the checkout line and they ask if you found everything, say, ‘Why, are you hiding stuff?’”

When a customer reaches a store's checkout, the customer is often asked if they found everything they were looking for. If a customer didn't find something, the store usually provides…

March 25, 2024
Restaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“Whenever a waiter asks me how I want my steak, I always say ‘free’”

Waiters ask how a diner would like a steak to be cooked, such as "rare" or "medium" or "well done." A joke on this was published by John Wagner’s Maxine comic…

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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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