# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2024, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447/41 "2024-03-05T04:09:06Z")
Bogart and hog are good verbs for the behavio(u)r. I was posting from work/my phone earlier and wasn’t in a position but can now add what I was reminded of re: English self portioning rudeness. This star studded 1943 War Department etiquette intro for US GIs in the UK. In particular is a clip (cued below) of a soldier invited to the home of a couple for a meal and cluelessly wolfs down days’ their of rations. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/SyYSBBE1DFw/maxresdefault.jpg "A Welcome to Britain, 1943") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyYSBBE1DFw&t=749) ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2024, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447/42 "2024-03-05T04:43:34Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yes, that’s what the Spelling Bee folks were bitching about Wow.   ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2024, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447/43 "2024-03-05T04:49:19Z")
I only knew the term “chowhound” from a board website where people asked for local restaurant recommendations and other people gave their recommendations. So I assumed “chowhound” meant people who searched for good food, just as a hound seeks out stuff. Like “foodie”. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2024, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447/44 "2024-03-05T04:50:04Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > How do Americans describe people who take over-large portions at social gatherings, if they do not have the word ‘gannet’? > [@pulykamell](#): > > I have never heard this word in any of its senses until earlier today in the Spelling Bee thread. As the one who brought up gannet in that thread, I’ll just say I knew it was a bird but had never heard of the British usage the OP asks about. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2024, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447/45 "2024-03-05T17:13:14Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > There was also “bogart” as a verb – “don’t bogart the bowl of chips.” I never understood quite where that came from. Bogart as a gangster? > [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Bogart hanging on to a joint instead of passing it, Yep! It comes from the iconic image of Humphrey Bogart with a lit cigarette in his mouth. He isn’t really smoking it, it’s just there burning. Don’t Bogart that joint, man! ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2024, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447/46 "2024-03-05T17:16:47Z")
I have fond memories of taking my kids to (mostly Chinese) buffets when they were an age where they could, with help, load their own plates. I was always embarrassed by the idea of them taking more than they could eat, so my plate would be mostly empty, allowing me to finish what they couldn’t. Oh, and they’d get crab legs, but I’d need to break them open. We always left empty plates, but it was arranged to happen that way. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2024, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447/47 "2024-03-05T23:21:58Z")
Sorry. “Carping.” I seem to be dipping into a bit of a manic phase where I let some of my inner monologue out. I apologize. I’ve muted the threads that have been irritating me. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2024, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447/48 "2024-03-05T23:47:14Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > a bit of a manic phase where I let some of my inner monologue out. Ha! That’s _never_ happened to me! /S ---
**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 6, 2024, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447/49 "2024-03-06T00:06:35Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Whenever I see someone at a buffet (NB: We don’t go go buffets, but we have) who’s loaded up his plate so that the plate of food is bigger than his head, I want to say ‘Dude. You know you can go back, right?’ That would involve standing up and walking unnecessarily. IME the folks with ginormous heaping plates tend to be … disinclined … to unnecessary motion. My approach to buffets, brunches, etc., is the polar opposite: I take a small amount of a couple things, go eat them while they’re still sorta warm, then go do it again with different things. A serious dinner effort might consume 10 plates, while a typical hotel breakfast buffet takes 3 plates and a bowl. But any one of those plates was mostly empty when I started towards my table. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2024, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447/50 "2024-03-06T00:16:27Z")
[John Pinette] You go now! You here four hour! [/John Pinette] ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2024, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447/51 "2024-03-06T00:24:22Z")
I forget which medieval name list I got this from. But back when your surname could be based on who your father was, or where you were from, it could also be a nickname based on personal traits. If you were a glutton, they could call you John Loafbite. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2024, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447/52 "2024-03-06T00:26:13Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I have never heard this word in any of its senses until earlier today in the Spelling Bee thread. There was recently a big screen gannet. > **[‘The Little Mermaid’ Director Explains The Real Reasons Why Scuttle Was...](https://www.justjared.com/2023/05/24/the-little-mermaid-director-explains-the-real-reasons-why-scuttle-was-changed-from-seagull-to-gannet/)** > > See why the change happened in the first place ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2024, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447/53 "2024-03-06T15:32:51Z")
We always say - they’re piggish ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2024, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447/54 "2024-03-06T15:38:58Z")
Golden Corralers? ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2024, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447/55 "2024-03-06T15:39:04Z")
For this reason, many social events have servers who themselves put regulated portions on your plate as you move down the line so they don’t run out of the most popular foods. Some people have no shame or regard for others. ---
**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 6, 2024, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447/56 "2024-03-06T16:02:09Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > My approach to buffets, brunches, etc., is the polar opposite: I take a small amount of a couple things, go eat them while they’re still sorta warm, then go do it again with different things. A serious dinner effort might consume 10 plates, while a typical hotel breakfast buffet takes 3 plates and a bowl. But any one of those plates was mostly empty when I started towards my table. Hmm, most of the situations where i eat from a buffet, this wouldn’t work. There might be time to go back for seconds before the servers clean stuff up, but a lot of the better items will be gone or picked over. There surely isn’t time to go back 3 or 4 times. My strategy is to try to look at what’s available before i start putting food on my plate, so i can still grab some shrimp at the end without overloading my plate. ---
**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 6, 2024, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447/57 "2024-03-06T16:50:06Z")
Hmm. I’d be surprised to see that at a commercial eatery of any description, be that swanky or modest. Which was the context I was thinking of. What you describe could sure happen at a potluck or a wedding or a catered business lunch. Although at the condo where I used to attend potlucks, the old dear ladies always prepared so silly much food that barely a third of the total was eaten by the end and even the most popular items still had a serving or two left. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2024, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447/58 "2024-03-06T17:04:09Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I’d be surprised to see that at a commercial eatery of any description, be that swanky or modest. I’d restrict that a little more because it’s still an issue if you are having a private event in the back room of a restaurant or a buffet wedding reception at a venue. If I book a 100 person event, there will be enough food for 100 people. Probably a few more - but if 30 people take two servings of chicken marsala then some people won’t get any. They don’t make enough for 150 in case there are a bunch of _cafones_ (what Italian-Americans call these people) Where you don’t see it is at buffets that are open to the public that might turn a table over two or three (or more) times - casinos, cruise ships, Amish smorgasbord restaurants ---
**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 6, 2024, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447/59 "2024-03-06T17:27:21Z")
Yeah. A wedding is a great example of where the planners / budgeters make a guess as to consumption and when that’s gone it’s gone, period. Whether the event is in somebody’s back yard cooked by their Mom, or catered at a ritzy hotel, or at Bob’s Pizza Shack and Bait Shop. … Hmmm. Those don’t look _quite_ like anchovies on that pizza. :eek: My own buffet experience is 90% hotels serving the public _en masse_. Plus “budget is no object” corporate sales booster “social” events. And the aforesaid overdone potlucks. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2024, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447/60 "2024-03-06T17:29:34Z")
This discussion is making me think of the favorite restaurant of most of my relatives when I was a kid-- Duff’s Smorgasbord. Anybody else familiar with that one? The chain is mostly dead but apparently [not entirely](https://www.pigeonforgetncabins.com/duffs-smorgasbord-pigeon-forge-tn/). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-large-portions-gannet/998447.md?page=4)