chowline

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See also: chow line

English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

chow +‎ line

Noun[edit]

chowline (plural chowlines)

  1. A line of people waiting for food.
    • 1974, Victor C Ferkiss, The future of technological civilization:
      ...men who had grown up in a world of dogtags, chowlines and mass organization.
    • 1982, John Weitz, Friends in high places:
      At lunchtime, the train stopped again, and an army style chowline was set up...
    • 2007 January 10, Anne Mendelson, “At the Temples of Food, an Outsider’s Look at the Sacred Texts”, in New York Times[1]:
      Yet apparently millions of us just love being nudged or browbeaten into particular chowlines by someone else with an air of authority, from weight-loss guru to restaurant reviewer.