Wishbone (Wish Bone; Wishing Bone)
The "wishbone (also "wish bone" or "wishing bone") is a forked bone, named using the Latin word forcula. The bone has been called "merrythought" in England since…
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“Here’s how!” & “Here’s looking at you!” (drinking toast)
Entry in progress -- B.P. 1856 _Knickerbocker_ XLVII 404: "_Here's at you!_" And with these words, down went the fire-water with wonderful unanimity. 30 November 1881, Washington…
Boardinghouse Reach (Boarding House Reach)
"Boardinghouse reach" (also "boarding house reach") is when someone reaches across the dinner table for an item, rather than politely asking for it. In boarding houses in the…
Training Table
A training table is a table where athletes in training are provided meals. The term was popularly used in competitive rowing (especially between Harvard and Yale) in the 1870s and 1880s and is…
Wish Sandwich
A "wish sandwich" was explained in the song "Rubber Biscuit," originally by The Chips in 1956, but popularized by the Blues Brothers (Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi) on the New…
FHB (Family Hold Back); MIK (More In the Kitchen)
The initials "FHB" stand for "family hold back." When guests (especially unexpected guests) were served dinner and there was not enough food to go around, the family members…
Meat and Three (Meat and Two)
"Meat and three" (or "meat 'n' three") is a restaurant that serves meat and three (usually vegetable) sides. The term has become popular in Nashville (TN), but many…
Nooch (nutritional yeast)
"Nooch" is slang for "nutritional yeast," a popular vegan nutritional supplement and cheese substitute. "Nooch" is cited in print from at least 2005 and was either…
Blue Plate Special
"Blue plate special" (or "blue-plate special" or "blue plate dinner") is the name of a low-priced meal of meat (or fish) with vegetables, all served on one (often…
Greasy Spoon (“dirty spoon” restaurant)
A "greasy spoon" (formerly called a "dirty spoon") is an eating establishment that is unsanitary or one that serves inexpensive and often fried foods to working-class customers.…
Cheftestant (chef contestant)
"Cheftestant" was coined in 2006 by recapper Keckler of the blog 'Television Without Pity," referring to the chef contestants of the Bravo television channel cooking show Top…
Quant or Quant Jock (quantitative analyst)
A "quant" is a "quantitative analyst" -- a person who applies mathematical models to the finance of Wall Street. Many college MBA programs trained "quants," and these…
White Pizza
"White pizza" (pizza without tomato sauce) is found at many pizzerias in the New York area, but is not often found in other parts of the country. The Italian "pizza bianca" is a…
Garlic Knots (Pizza Knots)
Garlic Knots (also called "pizza knots") are usually made in pizzerias with pizza dough, adding garlic and sometimes Parmesan cheese, oregano, and parsley. The dough is shaped into a…
“Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime”
"Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime." This phrase is popularly used in the business world, where it is often said that having…
“It takes money to make money” (“You’ve got to spend money to make money”)
"It takes money to make money" is a rhyming American business adage that dates to at least 1850. By at least 1888, the "take/make" rhyme was changed into the saying:…
Happy Hour
"Happy hour" originally meant an "hour of happiness" (often childhood happiness) and is cited in print from about 1702. The term "happy hour" was used in the navy…
“Waiting for the other shoe to drop” (business idiom)
"Waiting for the other shoe to drop" is a popular business idiom. A person wears two shoes; when a person takes off one shoe and drops it on the floor, it's expected that the other…
Widow-and-Orphan Stock (Widows’-and-Orphans’ Stock)
A "widow-and-orphan stock" (or "widows'-and-orphans' stock") is a well-known, low-risk stock that pays high dividends. Widows and orphans have long been thought to be…
City Chicken
The name "city chicken" is first cited in Ohio on 1926. "City chicken" is not chicken at all -- it's cubes of meat (such as pork or veal) placed on skewers, then breaded…