Editorial Note: This term was popularized by, if not coined by, the International Federation of Competitive Eating, a marketing and promotions organization which has a newsletter called “The Gurgitator.”
Citations:
2002 Jennifer Harper Washington Times (Feb. 18) “Fox’s ‘Glutton Bowl’ lures ‘gurgitators’ with $25k prize” p. A9: Chicken wings, matzo balls, pickled quail eggs, cannoli, hot dogs, jalapenos, sushi, pancakes, oysters, mince pie—it’s all fair game to competitive eaters who have their own federation, regulations, world records and yes, competitive eat meets where less is definitely not more and the best professional gurgitator wins. 2003 Jim Auchmutey Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Jan. 26) “The Amazing, Incredible, Record-Setting Big Mouth Dale Boone Is Making A Name For Himself On The Competitive Eating Circuit” p. LS1: The two-time defending Coney Island champion, Takeru “The Tsunami” Kobayashi, weighs barely 120 pounds and looks more like a gymnast than a gurgitator. 2005 Cheryl Rosenberg Neubert Kansas City Star (Kan., Mo.) (Mar. 7) “Competitive eaters’ looks can be deceiving”: Jed Donahue is a professional competitive eater, or gurgitator as they’re called in the biz.