# Over-large portions = Gannet **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 4, 2024, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447 "2024-03-04T17:02:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2024, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447/1 "2024-03-04T17:02:03Z")
A question from a friend. How do Americans describe people who take over-large portions at social gatherings, if they do not have the word ‘gannet’? ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2024, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447/2 "2024-03-04T17:04:40Z")
The internet tells me its UK slang. I’ve never heard it and I’m in the US. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2024, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447/3 "2024-03-04T17:14:49Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > How do Americans describe people who take over-large portions at social gatherings A glutton or a pig. > [@Procrustus](#): > > I’ve never heard it and I’m in the US I have never heard it either (southeastern PA if that matters). ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2024, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447/4 "2024-03-04T17:22:12Z")
[![](https://media.sciencephoto.com/f0/17/73/07/f0177307-800px-wm.jpg) ](https://media.sciencephoto.com/f0/17/73/07/f0177307-800px-wm.jpg) [![](https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2023/02/04/20/10/gannet-7768059_640.jpg) ](https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2023/02/04/20/10/gannet-7768059_640.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2024, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447/5 "2024-03-04T17:28:42Z")
In Yiddish, it would be a “khazer.” ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2024, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447/6 "2024-03-04T17:33:49Z")
Rude, mostly. I recall many years ago being at a military gathering where one man’s wife picked up the chip bowl and carried it around with her, munching away and let the crumbs fall where they may. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2024, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447/7 "2024-03-04T17:42:26Z")
I only know Gannett as a media & publishing company. There was an entire episode of Seinfeld about George trying to think of a reponse after getting made fun of taking an overly generous helping of shrimp. In it, we are introduced to the term jerkstore but George’s overindulgent behavior is left unnamed. A show about nothing, indeed! ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2024, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447/8 "2024-03-04T17:50:00Z")
This was on of my dad’s favorite terms to describe us kids. I always assumed it was describing kids demanding food from their parents, “Daaadddd! I’m hunnnnnngry!!!” (when you just goddamned ate two bloody minutes ago and refused to eat half your bloody food), in the manner of a gannet chick, rather than over-large portions generally. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2024, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447/9 "2024-03-04T17:55:40Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > There was an entire episode of Seinfeld about George trying to think of a reponse after getting made fun of taking an overly generous helping of shrimp. In it, we are introduced to the term jerkstore but George’s overindulgent behavior is left unnamed. A show about nothing, indeed! _Curb Your Enthusiasm_ gave us “vulture” as a term for someone who immediately descends upon a tray of hors d’oeuvres. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2024, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447/10 "2024-03-04T17:59:28Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > In Yiddish, it would be a “khazer.” I just read this in my bubbie’s accent. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2024, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447/11 "2024-03-04T18:03:59Z")
Probably “chowhound”. > a person who eats large quantities of food or is fond of eating; glutton or gourmand ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2024, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447/12 "2024-03-04T18:22:12Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > _Curb Your Enthusiasm_ gave us “vulture” Vulture applies to anyone overly opportunistic or taking unfair advantage of the weak. > [@Horatius](#): > > Probably “chowhound”. Chowhound, to me, suggests more curiousity than excess. They seek new and interesting foods. See also rockhound and powderhound (snowsports). ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2024, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447/13 "2024-03-04T18:35:37Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > A glutton or a pig. It’s a quirk of English that “pig” means someone who “eats like a horse” (= copiously), but not necessarily someone who “eats like a pig” (= impolitely). ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2024, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447/14 "2024-03-04T18:36:05Z")
A chow hound, to me, is someone who takes too much interest in food, to the exclusion of participating in the party. ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2024, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447/15 "2024-03-04T18:49:50Z")
“Wide-back behavior” is a popular term these days. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2024, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447/16 "2024-03-04T19:31:02Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > A glutton or a pig. Or greedy. Greedy-guts for extra nastiness. I’ve never heard “gannet”. I thought that was a bird? – yes, it is a bird. Maybe it’s a bird that eats a lot. > [@jnglmassiv](#): > > I only know Gannett as a media & publishing company. Oh yeah, I know that one too. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2024, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447/17 "2024-03-04T19:59:50Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > > [@Horatius](#): > > > > Probably “chowhound”. > > Chowhound, to me, suggests more curiousity than excess. They seek new and interesting foods. Chowhound to me suggests nothing but careless gluttony. Consume massed quantities of whatever not bothering to taste it. And probably making a mess while doing so. Like the way a dog eats. Or a contestant in a hot dog eating contest. That to me is the archetype of a chowhound. So the polar opposite of someone who cares about new and interesting food. I don’t know which of us is correct, or maybe we both are. Such are the perils of slang. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2024, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447/18 "2024-03-04T20:06:31Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Chowhound to me suggests nothing but careless gluttony. Consume massed quantities of whatever not bothering to taste it. And probably making a mess while doing so. Like the way a dog eats. I would understand that usage, too. Using it to mean > [@LSLGuy](#): > > someone who cares about new and interesting food. Would confuse me. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2024, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447/19 "2024-03-04T20:13:53Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I don’t know which of us is correct, or maybe we both are. Such are the perils of slang. Well, I posted the definition I found on a dictionary site, so there’s that. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2024, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447/20 "2024-03-04T20:28:53Z")
Cool. Nothing about your post suggested that the bit you indented was sourced from anything but your own mind. So I thought that’s where you got it from. Sorry. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447.md?page=2)