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When it’s time to eat, what do you say? Letting family, friends, roommates, and anyone else know that a meal is ready may be one of the most common things we do every day. Granted, many of us eat alone. But, assuming that you want to share a meal with someone, that announcement is pretty important. And, in English, we have lots of ways to get the message across.

Of course, the most obvious statement to make is to announce the serving of a meal by saying which meal has been prepared.

• Breakfast is ready!
• Lunch is ready!
• Brunch is ready!
• Supper is ready!
• Dinner is ready!

Informal Phrases

However, in English, mealtime is often accompanied by some colorful phrases. The word “Chow” is slang for a meal. It first appeared in the 19^th century when Chinese laborers came to the US to help build the railroads. “Ch’ao” or “ch’au” mean to fry and, at mealtime, you would find the workers in the chow hall. They weren’t necessarily the cleanest and most wholesome places to eat, given the working conditions, so the US military took to calling such places “mess halls.” The term is still commonly used among the enlisted men as a place where you go to eat.

“Grub” is another slang noun for food. It also is an intransitive verb meaning to search or dig around, hence “Dig in”. One assumes that its association with food coincided with the widespread use of forks, but maybe not.

“Tuck in” is an interesting phrase most common in Great Britain, but used by English speakers everywhere. It means to wear a napkin and to feel free to eat a big meal.

“Come and get it!” is a phrase that was sometimes accompanied by the ringing of a dinner bell on farms or at homes with many children. It probably began with the chuckwagons and logging camps of the Old West, where cooks served scores of hungry workers at one time. The bell was a large hollow metal triangle, hanging from a corner of the dining area by a string or rope. It would be struck with a metal rod multiple times and could be heard for great distances.

• Chow time! (Informal)
• Let’s dig in! (Informal)
• The grub’s on the table! (Informal)
• Tuck in, everyone! (Informal)
• Come and get it! (Informal)

Formal Phrases

More formal phrases associated with eating are heard, well, at more formal occasions such as weddings and other celebrations – what we might call black-tie affairs, named for the formal evening clothes worn by men, which includes a dinner jacket or tuxedo and a bow tie. Typically, you could expect to hear these invitations to dine from hosts, butlers, or waiters.

• Dinner is served. (Formal)
• Your meal has been plated. (Formal)
• You may now be seated. (Formal)

You may know other formal and informal ways to say, “Let’s eat!” Please share them in the comments box. I’d love to have you share them.