 Talking about food

L

unch is usually a fairly casual meal in Britain. With a bare hour to spare most people get by on a snack or a Ploughman's Lunch (bread, cheese and onions with a glass of beer) in a pub. But sometimes one has to entertain a business associate at a - and then a sandwich would not create the right impression. In the `working lunch' we are eaves-dropping on below, all the talk is of food and both men are trying to be complementary about the lunch.

Can you think of the antonyms of the words in italic and thus re-write the conversation so that it is highly critical of the meal?

George: How's your beef? Mr Soames: Oh — it's fine. Very tender. My meal is very well cooked. I must remember the name of this place. How's your lunch? George: It's delicious. The vegetables are especially tasty; not under-cooked, but still firm and with a `bite', you know? But you aren't eating any bread. Nothing wrong with it, is there? Mr Soames: No, no. It's just as I like it — fresh and with a lovely chewy texture. And the beer has a good rich flavour too. George: What about a pudding now, and a coffee to finish? I love the old-fashioned English dishes they do here. You know the sort of thing, with lashings^∗ of thick, smooth custard. Mr Soames: No, I don't think I will, thank you. I've had quite enough of this delightful food — to eat any more would just be greedy.

George: How's your beef? Mr Soames: Oh — it's ______________. Very ___________. My meal is very _______________. I must remember the name of this place. How's your lunch? George: It's _____________. The vegetables are especially ____________; ___________________ , but still ________ and ______________________ , you know? But you aren't eating any bread. Nothing wrong with it, is there? Mr Soames: No, no. It's just as I like it — ______ and ___________________________. And the beer has a _____________________________ too. George: What about a pudding now, and a coffee to finish? I love the old-fashioned English dishes they do here. You know the sort of thing, with lashings of ___________ , ____________ custard. Mr Soames: No, I don't think I will, thank you. I've had quite enough of this _______________ food — to eat any more would just be greedy.

Answers

Beef	fine	прекрасная	awful	ужасная
	tender	нежная	tough	жёсткая
Meal	well-cooked	хорошо приготовленный	badly cooked	плохо приготовленный
Lunch	delicious	вкусный	disgusting	отвратитель-ный
Vegetables	tasty	вкусные	tasteless	безвкусные
	under-cooked	недоварен-ные	over-cooked	переваренные
	firm	жёсткий	soft	мягкий
	with a `bite'	плотные	mushy	как пюре
Bread	fresh	свежий	stale	несвежий; засохший
	with a lovely chewy texture	хорошо пропечённый	with a texture like cotton-wool	как вата
Beer	good rich flavour	с тонким привкусом	a poor, watery flavour	как вода
Custard	thick	толстый	thin	тонкий
	smooth	хорошо взбитый	lumpy	плохо взбитый, с комьями
Food	delightful	дающий наслаждение	appalling	чудовищный

 It's a Piece of Cake

Or, in other words, it's very easy! There are quite a few expressions in English, which are based on English food.

If you are in the soup, you're in trouble, but you're not very intelligent, if you're half-baked. Bread is a slang expression for money, and wanting jam on it means you want some luxuries as well as the basic things in life. If you know which side your bread is buttered, you know when you're well-off. An old salt is a sailor, but if you take something with a pinch of salt, you doubt whether it's true. If you are as keen as mustard, you're very enthusiastic about something, but if it's not your cup of tea, you don't like it very much. When you sugar the pill, you disguise the unpleasant part of something, and if a thing is sugary, it's too sentimental. A person who is worth his salt is a good worker, but someone who is saucy is rather imprudent. If you cook your goose, you ruin your chances, and if you cook the books, you falsify the accounts. Finally, a storm in a tea-cup is a lot of fuss about nothing.

 Food for thought

There are many common expressions in the English language which refer to some kind of food. What would you understand by the following?

1. You'd better not spill the beans.

1. She seems full of beans.

1. It was piece of cake.

1. They're selling like hot cakes.

1. He's such a butter-fingers.

1. She knows which side her bread is buttered.

1. It's about as useful as a chocolate teapot.

1. Oh, hard cheese!

1. He seems a bit cheesed off.

1. I don't want to play gooseberry.

1. I've been left with egg on my face.

1. It was easy as pie.

Answers:

Idioms	Meanings
You'd better not spill the beans	Don't tell anyone
She seems full of beans	She's got plenty of energy
It was piece of cake.	It was very easy
They're selling like hot cakes	They're in great demand
He's such a butter-fingers.	He's always dropping things
She knows which side her bread is buttered.	She knows how to behave in her own self-interest
It's about as useful as a chocolate teapot.	It's useless
Oh, hard cheese!	Bad luck!
He seems a bit cheesed off.	He's fed up
I don't want to play gooseberry.	I don't want to play chaperone or intrude on a pair of lovers
I've been left with egg on my face.	I've been made to look stupid
It was easy as pie.	It was simple

 Complete the menu

Look at these six clues and fill in the answers in the spaces provided below. You will find that make a word, in the vertical box, for one of the meals of the day.

1. Food can be cooked this way over charcoal (7)

2. Fired potatoes often eaten with fish (2)

3. A small shellfish that is pink when cooked (5)

4. A farmyard bird (7)

5. As cold as .............(3)

6. Cats love to drink this (5)

1
2
3
4
5
6

Now fill in the gaps in this typical restaurant menu using the answers you have just found.

____________ MENU

Tomato Soup

____________ Cocktail

Egg Mayonnaise

***

Roast ____________

Fillet Steak

All dishes are served with

_______________ Fish (Plaice or Cod)

__________________ or Roast Potatoes

Peas and Carrots

***

__________________ ___________________

Fresh Fruit Salad

***

Cheese and Bisquits

***

Coffee

Answers

1	G	r	i	l	l	e	d
2					C	h	i	p	s
3			P	r	a	w	n
4	C	h	i	c	k	e	n
5					I	c	e
6						C	r	e	a	m

The menu should now read: DINNER MENU: Prawn Cocktail; Roast Chicken; Grilled Fish (Plaice or Cod); Chips or Roasted Potatoes; Ice Cream.

^∗ Lots, a large quantity of (especially of food)

Food Language

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