Dim sum =? savory snack

[Benjamin Barrett]

On Aug 17, 2011, at 2:36 PM, Joel S. Berson wrote:

> At 8/17/2011 03:00 PM, Benjamin Barrett wrote:
>> For dim sum, the OED says "A savoury
>> Cantonese-style snack; a meal consisting of these."
>>
>> For savoury, the OED has one relevant definition:
>>
>> adjective "3. Used, in contradistinction to
>> sweet, as the epithet of articles of food having
>> a stimulating taste or flavor."
>>
>> I have a bit of trouble imagining dim sum as a
>> "snack," but I suppose you can look at it that
>> way. "Let's go by Mee Sum Bakery and get a snack
>> to go∑" seems plausible though a little odd.
>
> Do you consider "snacks" as always "to go"?  I
> don't.  OED n.2, 4.b "A mere bite or morsel of
> food, as contrasted with a regular meal; a light
> or incidental repast".  More than 3 or 4 dim sum
> dishes becomes a meal, so that part of the OED definition is OK  :-).

Maybe it's because I haven't been a kid or been around kids for so long, but the word "snack" just doesn't come to mind other than as "snack food." If you were to run by the local burger joint and pick up some fries, would you say "I had a snack"? Okay, probably so.

Nevertheless, is the food orientation (LOL) of dim sum snacky? It's always great when someone brings some chasiu bao or siumai to share, but I associate it primarily with lunch. So it's like bringing French fries to the office. Yeah, people snack on them, but French fries don't strike me as a snacky food, per se. They are a food that can be eaten as a snack, but being a snack is not part of their definition.

Benjamin Barrett
Seattle, WA

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org