Usage of "snarf"

Question

Hi,Are you familiar with the expression "to snarf down" to mean "to gobble down, devour something" ?Can I say the following sentence:He came to the diner, ordered an entree and snarfed it down.Thanks ever so much.

Ferdis · Accepted Answer

Sounds fine. It's slang, though.

Philip · Answer

i my lingo, the word is scarf.

BarbaraPA · Answer

Thanks Philip. I couldn't figure out why it sounded almost right, but not quite right.

CalifJim · Answer

MrPernicketyAre you familiar with the expression "to snarf down" to mean "to gobble down, devour something" ?

Can I say the following sentence:

He came to the diner, ordered an entree and snarfed it down.

Sounds fine to me. One of the definitions of snarf in the Urban Dictionary is 'to eat very quickly'. I'm sure I've heard it used that way.

CJ

MrPernickety · Answer

Thank you, guys !

Philipi my lingo, the word is scarf.

Heh, but I saw "snarf" used in a book

And it is defined in a dictionary

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/snarf

So, by all appearances, you honor only "scarf" and "snarf" is not in wide use, right?

Thanks !

MrPernickety · Answer

CalifJimSounds fine to me. One of the definitions of snarf in the Urban Dictionary is 'to eat very quickly'. I'm sure I've heard it used that way

CJ

Hi, Jim

Thanks for the evaluation.

By the way, do you find "ordered an entree" natural?

When I wrote it, I was having doubts as to its aptness...

Delmobile · Answer

"Ordered an entree" is fine, but not something you'd be likely to do in a diner.

Jim left his meeting with the boss weak-kneed with relief, and suddenly realized he hadn't eaten for almost 24 hours. He turned into the corner diner, ordered three cheeseburgers, and scarfed them down. Then he signaled Flo, the waitress. "Got any apple pie today?"

I've heard both scarf and snarf. I think I actually like "snarf" better because it conveys the snorts and snuffles of the gobbling, hog-like diner. In fact, "snort" may have been what converted "scarf" to "snarf." (I think linguists have a word for this process but I don't know it.)

Adrenochrome · Answer

It sounds as though it may have been derived from the word scoff, which has two meanings in English, one of which is to eat quickly, as in 'he scoffed down his dinner'.

CalifJim · Answer

MrPernicketyBy the way, do you find "ordered an entree" natural?

I agree with Delmobile on this one. "entree" is a word usually reserved for expensive restaurants -- maybe because it comes from French?

CJ

MrPernickety · Answer

Thank you, Delmobile and Jim !

I felt that "entree" is an exquisite word and is not befitting the simple context of my sentence

Usage of "snarf"

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