I snacked on chicken wings until the pizza was ready

[alpacinou]

Is it correct to say someone "snacked on chicken wings/pasta"? Are these correct and natural?

1. I snacked on chicken wings until the pizza was ready.
2. It's going to take a few hours for the main meal to be ready. Let's snack on some pasta because I'm very hungry right now.

 

[Tarheel]

Both are possible. However, if you eat too much while waiting for the pizza well, you know.

Since chicken tends to be finger food, I associate "snack" more with that, but like I said, both are possible. (Maybe it's just me.)

 

[emsr2d2]

Since chicken tends to be finger food, ...

Why do you consider chicken to be finger food?! I defy you to eat any of these with your fingers:

Chicken curry
Chicken chow mein
Chicken soup
Chicken casserole
Coq au vin

The only type of chicken that people eat with their fingers is some version of fried chicken pieces, such as KFC (and that's not really food, in my opinion!)

 

[teechar]

I suspect it was a typo. I think Tarheel meant to type "chicken wings", which is what the OP had said in that sentence.

 

[emsr2d2]

That might well be the case but if it was meant to be "chicken wings", it should be "tend", not "tends".

 

[teechar]

True. It's New Year's Eve, so maybe some other factors are at play. I for one am being affected by some at the moment.

 

[Tarheel]

Why do you consider chicken to be finger food?! I defy you to eat any of these with your fingers:

Chicken curry
Chicken chow mein
Chicken soup
Chicken casserole
Coq au vin

The only type of chicken that people eat with their fingers is some version of fried chicken pieces, such as KFC (and that's not really food, in my opinion!)

Well, wings had already been mentioned, so I naturally had that on my mind. In addition, I wouldn't expect to see any of the things you mentioned at a pizza place.

 

[emsr2d2]

Well, wings had already been mentioned, so I naturally had that on my mind. In addition, I wouldn't expect to see any of the things you mentioned at a pizza place.

I wouldn't expect chicken wings in a pizza place either.

 

[Tarheel]

I suspect it was a typo. I think Tarheel meant to type "chicken wings", which is what the OP had said in that sentence.

I suppose I thought the OP would understand what I meant. I suppose I could have said that the kind of chicken you get at pizza place tends to be finger food.

 

[Tarheel]

I wouldn't expect chicken wings in a pizza place either.

It's common here.

 

[emsr2d2]

Is it correct to say someone "snacked on chicken wings/pasta"? Are these correct and natural?

1. I snacked on chicken wings until the pizza was ready.
2. It's going to take a few hours for the main meal to be ready. Let's snack on some pasta because I'm very hungry right now.

Both of those sound like more than a snack. A snack would be something like a packet of crisps (that would be a bag of chips in AmE) or a small bar of chocolate, and is usually something you eat between meals, not something you have to tide you over while you're waiting for the main course to cook. Pasta is a main meal. I can't think of any situation in which it would be considered a snack.

 

[alpacinou]

Both of those sound like more than a snack. A snack would be something like a packet of crisps (that would be a bag of chips in AmE) or a small bar of chocolate, and is usually something you eat between meals, not something you have to tide you over while you're waiting for the main course to cook. Pasta is a main meal. I can't think of any situation in which it would be considered a snack.

Sometimes, people have a small amount of food before having the main meal. Is there a verb/idiom/expression for that? I intend to use it in those examples instead of "snack".

 

[Tarheel]

@alpacinou Appetizer. It's called an appetizer.

 

[alpacinou]

@alpacinou Appetizer. It's called an appetizer.

I'm looking for a verb that describes the action of eating some food before the main meal.

 

[Tarheel]

I'm looking for a verb that describes the action of eating some food before the main meal.

OK. (I haven't had my coffee yet.)

I'm not sure there is such a verb, but maybe somebody will tell us.

(I've never understood the concept of "appetizer". It makes no sense to me.)

 

[emsr2d2]

I'm looking for a verb that describes the action of eating some food before the main meal.

There is no one-word verb.

Having something to keep you going.
Having something to tide you over.

Going back to your original suggestion, you could use "having a snack" but only if it's something akin to what I suggested earlier (a bag of crisps, a couple of bits of chocolate, or a little chunk of bread), but it doesn't work with chicken wings or pasta. Both of those are too substantial to constitute a snack.

 

[Barque]

I think both are possible too.

1. I snacked on chicken wings until the pizza was ready.

This works if you just had a couple. If it was just one, "I snacked on a chicken wing while I waited for the pizza".

Let's snack on some pasta because I'm very hungry right now.

This could work if you meant a small amount of pasta, say a small bowl left over from an earlier meal that you were going to heat up in the microwave.

 

[Rover_KE]

@alpacinou Appetizer. It's called an appetizer.

Only in American English - in British English it’s a starter.

 

[emsr2d2]

This could work if you meant a small amount of pasta, say a small bowl left over from an earlier meal that you were going to heat up in the microwave.

That's still too much food to call it a "snack" in BrE. It's clear from this thread that people have different ideas about what constitutes a snack.

 

[Tdol]

I think plenty of British people have bigger ideas about what constitutes a snack.