Do you ever say that you have "no food in the house" and is it literally true?

[BalloonSlayer]

I hear it a lot.

From people who are not - to my knowledge - short of money. It is usually said in the context of "We'll I'm off to Tesco's now as we've no food in the house."

Does this mean that these people actually manage to eat what they have got and don't go shopping until they have eaten everything?

Or that they are short of one or two staples and simply using that expression?

I hate hearing people saying that they are starving when they are just very hungry, because people are starving in this world. So given that there are people who really do have no food in the house in this world, country, county, town, do some people use that phrase for no reason?

Just wondered.

I think for families with teenagers it may be literally true. But for most people it's an expression like "I've got nothing to wear"

When I was a child we would have almost nothing left, maybe a can of peas. Now I have a phobia of having empty cupboards/fridge/freezer, I will say we have no food when the fridge is out of things to cook (meat, fish and fruit) but it will still have eggs, cheese, veg in it. I'm nuts!

This happens to me. I have store cupboard ingredients like pasta, oil, herbs, spices, butter etc but often have no fruit, vegetables or meat/fish. I shop almost daily.

I was just going to say its similar to 'nothing to wear' too!
I'd say I've got no food in he house if I meant that I've got odds and ends left and some cupboard bits but I dont have enough things to put a whole meal together PLUS I'm out of basics.

I nearly caught myself thinking it today, you see, because I was struggling to put together a meal due to some basics being missing.

I was at myself. Freezer is almost full! O the shame of our pampered modern western life.

I once said to DH that we didn't have any food in the house and he told me that was rubbish and proceeded to cook a delicious albeit slightly odd combination of things for dinner for the next 3 nights.

That showed me.

Years ago I found in the back of a lengthy and serious grammar book a section on how to swear correctly in English.

It included 'The fucking fucker's fucked'

'There is no food in the fucking fridge'

and the my all time favourite

'Put the fucking cat out'

I use the last two frequently although it is never true as the fridge is never actually empty and I dont have a cat.

For me it feels like there is no food in the house if I have ran out of cheese, I cant cope without cheese

I do actually like to run the kitchen down to empty.

For me it means there's nothing that can be eaten as a meal so for e.g. i'll have dry pasta but no veg, no sauce, no pesto, no cheese, nothing that could go vaguely on pasta but maybe i'll have one tin of baked beans and some basmati rice and nothing in the fridge except a few cans of diet tonic i keep for gin but never drink and some ketchup maybe and nothing in the freezer except something vaguely inedible that i've just never thrown out.

I've always got endless jars of mustard and chutney that people buy us for christmas. So not 'nothing' but still nothing that makes a meal.

Sorry, this is me. have been trying harder this week and eaten odd things. We only have a small Freezer as I've never been good at using up all the food in there. I only have 3 food cupboards (standard Ikea size) Will never have more even if we get a new kitchen as I will fill it with stuff I thought would be different but then never fancy cooking.

I have said it before I'm afriad, despite it not being true. What I have actually meant is that I have nothing onhand I can use to make a full dinner that night - generally because I forgot to defrost, or some daft reason.

It is just a turn of phrase, and yes - I have also said "I ahve nothing to wear" when in reality I do indeed have clothes in my wardrobe.

It doesn't mean I am being wasteful, or not caring of others in less fortunate situations, etc.

There are loads of phrases in everyday use that, when you think about it, are simply not true for the vast majority of people saying it. Should every phrase be scrutinised and worried over in every day chat?

Cathpot

I've seen that grammar book too! Was it Harmer?

Also reminds me of the gag,

"For fuck's sake, look at that dog! I hate fucking dogs!"

"Well stop fucking them then."

Oh hurrah MIFLAW, for years people I've had people think I was making it up. I couldnt remember what it was called but I may now try and get hold of it. I feel I need to own it.

You made me laugh. But I suspect we are both on the wrong thread.

It might not be Harmer but it's definitely real - my mate saw it while doing his TEFL course.

I agree we're on the wrong thread - though I can't find "am i being unreasonable to find the word "fuck" funny?"

I have done that swear word handout in TEFL class,usually at the end of the course and it always goes down well
I think it is in Practical English Usage by Swan

There was one sentence in there about 'putting the fucking kettle on' and henceforth we always said it at break time,even on one memorable occasion in front of a British Council Inspector

Well, I think you ABU. It's only a throw away comment, if we all had to think that in depth about every comment we make we'd all be mute.

I often say that, which can not only mean we don't have enough in to scratch a meal together but also... there is nothing in that I fancy/can cook in under 5 mins!!

Do you ever say 'I'm just going to put the baby down', 'I'll only be a minute', 'No, I haven't had time' - there are lots of expressions we use on a daily basis that aren't strictly true and I bet you too use at least one of them

It means no fresh food in this house. Which is OK if you want to eat pasta and passatta but a bit limiting if you fancy anything more interesting.

But I get your point.

Bit like saying 'I've got nothing to wear' which annoys me more TBH.

Back when my oldest 2 DCs were teenagers, when I said it, it would be close to true. They would just have to glance at the fridge and stuff would vanish. The younger 2 eat a lot, but not in the same league. Now oldest are at University and I still seem unable to cook for less than 6 people at a time, so the freezer is full of leftovers - takeaway boxes with Bolognese for 2 in them etc. Except I never label them, and sometimes we have mystery meals where random things are defrosted and it's only then we can identify it.

Happens in our house - sometimes think at least I've still got the jar of mincepie filling! I mavel at those with loads of food packed in the fridge & freezer.

I am guilty of using it - and I usually mean there is nothing in the fridge to make a meal, or there is no milk or cheese or eggs or potato or beans in the cupboard - I have been known to produce odd meal combinations while emptying out the freezer!

The I have nothing to wear is not quite the same, it is just a turn of phrase!

OK, what are the chances. 3 people independently open a random thread about fridge contents and all of us know the pleasure of a properly wielded 'fuck' sentence, instigated by a very proper source text.

I am inexplicably cheered by this.

I feel we need to start some sort of movement.

I say it frequently. What I mean is that I do obviously have food in the house, but I am missing certain key ingredients that I would need to put together a meal. Yes there is minced beef and chicken in the freezer but that's no help when there is no pasta / potatoes / vegetables etc.

Out of courtesy, I don't go into a long winded explanation about what store cupboard staples I am lacking, supplemented by a handout giving a written inventory. I have no desire to wilfully bore everyone's fucking pants off

My dad keeps saying this - despite my pantry being overwhelmingly full. You can't get anything else in there at all.

What I think he means is that there is nothing he fancies in there.

I keep saying - there are 10 tins of beans and a loaf of bread. You have been to 3 supermarkets in three days. Either buy some food you want to eat, eat the beans or shut up because I am sick and don't really care.

My teenage son says this in an accusatory tone.

To him it means - we dont have crisps, frozen pizza or any manner of junk food crap that he wont have to assemble (like making a cheese sandwich, or boiling an egg.)

I have given up protesting and now just agree.