short eats

n.pl. small snacks, especially meat or vegetable pastries, eaten in variety in a fashion similar to dim sum or tapas. Subjects: English, Sri Lanka, Food & Drink

Editorial Note: While this term is most common in Sri Lanka, it is also used in southern India and other parts of Asia. It dates back at least to the 1960s.

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Citations: 1986 Patricia Stamp, Stephen Katz Globe and Mail (Toronto, Can.) (Apr. 23) “It’s lush eating in Sri Lanka” p. E1: If your appetite grows during the day, you can stop at one of the many tea houses which dominate any town’s streets, and order “short eats,” a lovely collective noun for various snacks, such as small patties, spring rolls, samosas, fritters, and small desserts of spiced flours, coconut and cashew nuts. 1993 Erik Futtrup Usenet: rec.travel (Sept. 28) “Sri Lanka Travelogue 1993”: Go into a “short-eats” shop, and talk to people there! 1998 The Hindu (Sept. 21) “Fragrance and food”: The small, attractive vegetarian pantry at the entrance serves south Indian short eats like idlis, vadas and different varieties of dosas. 2001 Robert Bradnock Footprint Sri Lanka Handbook (Apr. 1) 3 ed., p. 341: “Short eats” a selection of meat and vegetable snacks (in pastry or crumbled and fried) charged as eaten. 2005 Wasantha Ramanayake Daily News (Sri Lanka) (Mar. 3) “Intruding cop busts shorteat vendor’s ears for saying ‘hello’”: The Supreme Court decided to hold a full inquiry into the alleged Police assault on a “shorteats” vendor, who had been found fault for saying “hello” to a Police Sergeant lingering in the vendor’s compound in the wee hours.

Posted 3 Mar 05 | Permalink | Tell a Friend