skewer/stick

[kachibi]

Well, you can use "skewer" (as a verb) to mean you use a skewer to penetrate and hold food. You can use "stick" for toothpicks: stick a toothpick to food. But can I swap the two? I mean a toothpick (which is short) to skewer food; stick a skewer to food?

 

[Tdol]

Which food?

 

[Rover_KE]

You can't use a toothpick for a kebab and you can't pick your teeth with a skewer.

Rover

 

[emsr2d2]

Well, you can use "skewer" (as a verb) to mean you use a skewer to penetrate and hold food. You can use "stick" for toothpicks: stick a toothpick to food. But can I swap the two? I mean a toothpick (which is short) to skewer food; stick a skewer to food?

You don't stick a toothpick to food. You would need glue to do that. You stick a toothpick into some foods - gherkins, olives, small pieces of cheese, pickled onions.

I suppose you could say "I skewered an olive with a toothpick" to mean that you stabbed a toothpick into an olive in order to pick it up and transfer it to your mouth.

 

[kachibi]

emsr2d2, thanks for your answers.

Does your "skewer" in your second example necessarily carry the meaning of holding more than 1 thing using, as you mentioned, a toothpick? Cause I wonder if "skewer" as a verb must infer that there must be more than 1 thing on the toothpick or skewer.

 

[emsr2d2]

emsr2d2, thanks for your answers.

Does your "skewer" in your second example necessarily carry the meaning of holding more than 1 thing using, as you mentioned, a toothpick? Cause I wonder if "skewer" as a verb must infer that there must be more than 1 thing on the toothpick or skewer.

As I said "I skewered an olive with a toothpick", clearly I don't think you need more than one thing on the pointy object in order to consider that you skewered it. To me, "to skewer" just means to stick a fairly long, sharp object through something.

In order to make kebabs on a skewer, yes, you would put more than one thing on, but each individual item would be skewered.

 

[kachibi]

thanks very clear!