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short-order

short-order

3 3.9
Meals that cooks make and serve quickly in places like diners
  • adjective
  • /ˈʃɔrtˌɔrdər/
  • US
translation icon : rápido
  • Short-order cook puts his hands to his face and falls to the ground, screaming.
  • short-order cook

You've been a dishwasher, a short order cook, a bookkeeper, a tow truck driver, a gas jockey, bartender, plywood mill laborer and railway line worker.

Examples

  • No, I think Justin and Bradley (Bradford?) would be a short-order cook and a dishwasher, respectively.

    Blog text (27)
  • The menu featured short-order dishes that could be served quickly to hungry customers.

  • You have worked as a short-order cook for the past fifteen years.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • Was he short-order cooking all around Atlanta?

    Fiction book (1998)
  • It comes naturally; my father was a top-flight short-order cook at an all-night restaurant on the bay.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • He was an excellent short-order cook who made imaginative use of ready-made and local ingredients.

    Academic text (1991)
  • The short-order cook in a hairnet charges out of the kitchen at Mickey, wielding a meat cleaver and screaming.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • "Every second is a deadline" indeed, if you see yourself as a short-order cook sweating over a greasy griddle of link-bait.

    Blog text (25)
  • They were looking at him and nodding their heads when the short-order cook shouted in English, "Pick up!" The waitress took three steps toward the window to the kitchen and lifted a plate from the counter.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • At the diner, the short-order cook prepared burgers and fries in just minutes.

Synonyms

quick
vsshort-order
  • Informal
130 1.0

Happening or done without any delay

applies specifically to food prepared and served in diners and cafes

Antonyms

1 3.3

Cooking at low heat for a long time makes meat tender and adds flavor

How Fast

instant
233 2.0
fast service
1 1.9
short-order
  • US
3 3.9
low and slow
1 3.3

Surface Forms

short-order positive

Morphology

short-order = short + order (semi-transparent) = short + order

The components 'short' and 'order' are clear, but the specific culinary sense 'prepared and served quickly' is a specialized restaurant collocation that may not be fully predictable to all learners.

Etymology

The word short-order comes from two simple words: short meaning 'quick' and order meaning 'a customer's request'. So a short-order cook makes food quickly for each order, which is why short-order food is prepared and served fast.