chow call
Chow call is military and institutional slang for an announcement signalling that it's time to eat — the call to the mess hall or dining facility.
Definitions
Chow call is military and institutional slang for an announcement signalling that it's time to eat — the call to the mess hall or dining facility. 'Chow' is established American slang for food (of uncertain but possibly Chinese-pidgin origin), and 'call' refers to the announcement or bugle call. The term is most at home in military, camp, prison, or other institutional settings where meals are communal and announced. Carries a no-frills, no-ceremony register.
At the first chow call the recruits dropped everything and jogged to the mess hall.
Comments
(slang) An announcement of mealtime.
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- chow hall80%
Military slang for the mess hall — the cafeteria where service members eat their meals on base. Chow hall carries the no-frills, institutional energy of military life: you grab a tray, get your food, eat fast, and get back to it. Outside the armed forces, the phrase has bled into school, prison, and camp contexts to describe any large communal eating space where the menu isn't exactly gourmet.
- chowtime78%
Slang for mealtime — the time when food is served or eaten. The word combines 'chow' (informal for food, particularly in military contexts) with 'time', producing a casual, no-fuss term with a slightly institutional or military flavour. It is informal and cheerful in register.
- chow hall75%
(military slang) mess hall.
- chowtime74%
(slang) The time when food is eaten; a mealtime.