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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To absolutely hate the word… snacks

150 replies

Ughughughughugh · 18/02/2026 14:25

When did the word snacks come in?! When I was a kid it wasn’t used. It gives me the ick… kids have a snack, give them snacks, snacks snacks snacks . Why not meals?! I could rant all day about the word snack and my hate for it . If you do give your kids food just call it fruit , crisps etc but snacks can jump off a cliffe

OP posts:
AllPlayedOut · 18/02/2026 14:26

The term “ick” is infinitely worse.

mynameiscalypso · 18/02/2026 14:29

I’m an adult and I love a snack. I just had one!

CDTC · 18/02/2026 14:30

Crisps isn't a meal, it is a snack.

KimberleyClark · 18/02/2026 14:30

It’s an old word originating from middle Dutch snacken., meaning to bite, and is in use in its current meaning since 1807.

Harrietsaunt · 18/02/2026 14:30

It’s not as bad as picky bits. That really makes me feel 🤮

beasmithwentworth · 18/02/2026 14:31

Because a meal is not a snack 🤔

Anonanonanonagain · 18/02/2026 14:31

Raised in the 70's and we had snacks. It is not a new term unlike ick which is a sound rather than a word and at that a horrible sound.

Pandorea · 18/02/2026 14:32

I don’t mind snacks but struggle with picky bits and sweet treats (not too sure why re the latter)

Ughughughughugh · 18/02/2026 14:32

Harrietsaunt · 18/02/2026 14:30

It’s not as bad as picky bits. That really makes me feel 🤮

Omg yes don’t get me started on that! When m and s starting using it I lost all respect for them. I perceive it as chavvy ! We have nibbles of a buffet or charcuterie and cheese , canapés.

OP posts:
AutumnedCrow · 18/02/2026 14:33

Yes, ‘snacking’ is a manipulation tactic of the UPF food lobby.

The UPF lobby suggests there’s a need for the product; it creates a market; it makes up some problems that the product’s supposed to solve; it pretends it’s a healthy option; gets celebrity tie-in, promotions and SM marketing; makes it look appealing to children and parents alike; it lobbies MPs; and gets very rich.

DramaAlpaca · 18/02/2026 14:33

Harrietsaunt · 18/02/2026 14:30

It’s not as bad as picky bits. That really makes me feel 🤮

Same. Horrible phrase, I can't even bring myself to say it.

I don't mind 'snacks' though.

TeenToTwenties · 18/02/2026 14:35

A snack is a 'treat you can eat between meals without ruining your appetite ' isn't it? We had that in the 70s.

dailyconniptions · 18/02/2026 14:35

*cliff.
Snacks seems OK to me. They certainly aren't meals though.

Arlanymor · 18/02/2026 14:35

Ughughughughugh · 18/02/2026 14:32

Omg yes don’t get me started on that! When m and s starting using it I lost all respect for them. I perceive it as chavvy ! We have nibbles of a buffet or charcuterie and cheese , canapés.

Chavvy is a disgusting word.

SerenityScout · 18/02/2026 14:36

Snacks are snacks. What's there to hate about it?

Ughughughughugh · 18/02/2026 14:36

AutumnedCrow · 18/02/2026 14:33

Yes, ‘snacking’ is a manipulation tactic of the UPF food lobby.

The UPF lobby suggests there’s a need for the product; it creates a market; it makes up some problems that the product’s supposed to solve; it pretends it’s a healthy option; gets celebrity tie-in, promotions and SM marketing; makes it look appealing to children and parents alike; it lobbies MPs; and gets very rich.

This is kind of what I think. I was at a park morning and a parent kept asking her child non stop if she wanted a snack. Let the kid play or give her a piece of fruit. I don’t walk round eating all day - I’d be huge. It’s quite consumerist . My kids have 3 meals plus maybe fruit/ veg or something but I don’t load with with shit non stop and teach them it’s normal and use or encourage the word snacks

OP posts:
TomatoSandwiches · 18/02/2026 14:37

We call them Shnacky Shnacks, in the style of Sean Connery here, is that alright?

tinydynamine · 18/02/2026 14:37

I have occasionally seen it written as "snakes" on English-language menus abroad.

WhatterySquash · 18/02/2026 14:39

I can cope with snacks but “snacking” as a verb drives me mad. In supermarkets there often a “snacking” section now Angry

Picky bits just makes me think of bogeys and scabs.

KnickerlessFlannel · 18/02/2026 14:43

TomatoSandwiches · 18/02/2026 14:37

We call them Shnacky Shnacks, in the style of Sean Connery here, is that alright?

Us too!! Especially if it's a salty snack that we're after (as opposed to a sweet treat!).

likelysuspect · 18/02/2026 14:44

Cant stand 'ick' so you are unreasonable already

However to answer your question 'snacks' became constantly talked about, all the time when it was deemed that children need to be eating all the live long day and cant go for 30 mins without a snack and get 'hangry' and how that is the worst thing in the world and how we need to constantly be topping up for blood sugars etc etc etc. No one can wait til tea time and one must never feel hungry. Totally obsessed about kids eating all the time.

We didnt have snacks as such when growing up.

MTOandMe · 18/02/2026 14:45

Oh god! So do I! It’s an horrible word but I feel the same way about the word ‘meal’ too 🤢

likelysuspect · 18/02/2026 14:45

mynameiscalypso · 18/02/2026 14:29

I’m an adult and I love a snack. I just had one!

Yeah I mean Ive just had a rant on my soap box about kids eating too many snacks but as an adult, well if you cant beat em, join em!!!

Thepeopleversuswork · 18/02/2026 14:48

Meh... I've heard worse.

Picky bits is universally acknowledged on Mumsnet to be the work of the devil. Never does a day pass without someone getting the vapours over this phrase, see also hollibobs and hubs.

I don't love any of these phrases but I find the predictability of the daily rants over them exhausting: can people not be more imaginative in their choice of hateful words?

TheLeadbetterLife · 18/02/2026 14:48

Here in Portugal, snacks are called "lanche", which is very confusing. The Portuguese snack a lot, on pastries.