Business Bites and other follies

I recently ate at a local pub, but instead of concentrating on the food (which was actually quite good), I spent the time trying to figure out the meaning of these words, which appeared in large type on the menu: “Business Bites Lunch.” There was no punctuation in the original, so I’m assuming this is not a sentence about pin-striped-suiters gnawing on midday meals. The only alternative meaning I could come up with was that “business” is biting into the time allotted for lunch.  Your ideas welcome.

And then there’s this sign:

Which executive would you like to eat for lunch?

Which executive would you like to eat for lunch?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now I’m picturing a steam table keeping CEOs, CFOs, and other executives warm as they wait to be plopped on a plate by eager diners. If you feel this year’s populist rage, you may enjoy the thought of cannibalizing a few corporate board members. But even if you go with an alternate interpretation — lunch for big-wigs — another problem arises. How does the waiter decide who qualifies as an executive? Does a manager count? How about the mailroom supervisor? And is there a market for fake credentials, similar to the counterfeit IDs that teenagers present when they buy beer?

The eat-at-home crowd may be attracted by this sign, affixed to a truck delivering supplies to my local upscale (i.e. unbelievably snobby) grocery:

I'll take three ideas and a side of coleslaw.

I’ll take three ideas and a side of coleslaw.

 

Had I known that “good ideas” were for sale, I’d have saved a lot of blogging time. Instead of poring over my photo cache, I’d simply walk to the corner and pick up a few “good ideas” — plus lunch. At least this store doesn’t limit its customer list to executives and business people!

5 thoughts on “Business Bites and other follies

  1. Rudy

    It’s obvious to me: the restaurant serves “bites” of foods just right for business people. I’m guessing business folks just don’t have time for more than a bite or two, they are too busy trying to decipher signs like this one.

    Reply
  2. Justin

    Another possibility: It’s a play on the meaning Rudy suggests, but also a play on the verb “to bite” in its colloquial use (“Business Bites” Lunch), with “Business Bites” as the name of said lunch.

    Reply
    1. Geraldine Post author

      Good point, Justin. I’d add the quotation marks, as you did, if I were writing the sign. A hyphen between “business” and “bites” would also clarify the meaning.

      Reply

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