The replacement of the doggy bag

[Baker, John]

Maybe, but I think it's primarily because the stigma of taking food home has disappeared.  Forty years ago it was widely understood that "doggy bag" was a charade; customers might pretend that they were taking the food home to give to their dog, but really they meant to eat it later.  Now even quite nice places readily provide take-out containers and bags, and there is no pretense of nonhuman consumption.

I remember a couple of stories from the transitional period in the 1970s.  In one, the writer told of his difficulty in getting a snooty restaurant to provide a doggy bag for his leftover steak.  He refused to be embarrassed, however, and the waiter eventually provided a bag.  When he got home, however, he put the leftover steak in its bag momentarily on a chair, "and then the damn dog ate it."

In the second, the writer told of visiting France (or another francophone country) where the use of doggy bags was not yet known.  The writer explained the custom, attempting to do so in a discreet manner.  The waiter came back in a few minutes with a large, filled bag and a smile.  "I wish your dog bon appetit, Monsieur!  I have leftovers from not just your plate but all the plates in the restaurant!"


John Baker



-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of Benjamin Barrett
Sent: Friday, March 07, 2014 12:17 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: The replacement of the doggy bag

> I still hear (and use) "doggy bag" occasionally for take-home at
> restaurants in the Boston area.  But I must confess I sometimes think
> (unappetizingly) of the other context; I think it has taken on that
> second meaning.

Haha. Perhaps _that's_ the reason the word is falling out of use! BB

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