Snack/ snack foods

[Maybo]

I'd like to learn how to use the word "snack".

Sample sentences from dictionary:

1. I had a huge lunch, so I'll only need a snack for dinner.

Does "a snack" mean "a small meal" in the above sentence?
What's the difference if I say "I'll only need some snacks for dinner"? Does it mean "some small meals"?
If I grab a few cookies, can I refer to the cookies as "some snacks"?


2. Many snack foods are high in salt, sugar, and fat.

Can I remove "foods", and say "Many snacks are..."?
Are the following both acceptable?:
a. The shop sells French and Spanish snacks.
b. The shop sells French and Spanish snack foods.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

I'd like to learn how to use the word "snack".

Sample sentences from dictionary:

1. I had a huge lunch, so I'll only need a snack for dinner.

Does "a snack" mean "a small meal" in the above sentence?

No. It's not a meal. It's just a little bit of food. You can also say bite or nosh.

What's the difference if I say "I'll only need some snacks for dinner"?

No one says that.

Does it mean "some small meals"?

No. It doen't make sense. It's wrong.

If I grab a few cookies, can I refer to the cookies as "some snacks"?

No. Refer to it as a snack. It's just a little bit of food.

2. Many snack foods are high in salt, sugar, and fat.

Can I remove "foods", and say "Many snacks are..."?

Yes, but it would change the meaning.

Are the following both acceptable?:
a. The shop sells French and Spanish snacks.
b. The shop sells French and Spanish snack foods.

Again, both are correct but mean different things.

A snack is a small amount of food, like your cookies.

A snack food is a food people typically snack on. Popcorn is a snack food. Steak is not.

Notice that snack can be a noun, adjective, or verb.

Notice also that you can eat a lot of snack food. After all that snacking, you might not want a meal.

 

[Maybo]

Are the following both acceptable?:
a. The shop sells French and Spanish snacks.
b. The shop sells French and Spanish snack foods.

Again, both are correct but mean different things.

What's the difference?

Can I also say "French and Spanish snack food"?

 

[jutfrank]

Does "a snack" mean "a small meal" in the above sentence?

I say no, absolutely not. It is completely unhelpful and confusing to try to define a snack as a small meal. It is not a meal. That's the main point.

What's the difference if I say "I'll only need some snacks for dinner"? Does it mean "some small meals"?

We can't answer this question because we don't know what you mean by "some small meals". Forget this question.

If I grab a few cookies, can I refer to the cookies as "some snacks"?

No. Call it a snack.

Can I remove "foods", and say "Many snacks are..."?
Are the following both acceptable?:
a. The shop sells French and Spanish snacks.
b. The shop sells French and Spanish snack foods.

I think you should abandon all of these question until you have a clear idea of what a snack is. Until then, these questions and their answers are likely to confuse you.

Proceed like this: First distinguish by contrast the difference between 'a snack' and 'a meal'. Look at the following pictures. Which is which?

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

What's the difference?

I explained that in post #2. What part didn't you understand?

Can I also say "French and Spanish snack food"?

Yes.

What does your dictionary tell you?

 

[Maybo]

Proceed like this: First distinguish by contrast the difference between 'a snack' and 'a meal'. Look at the following pictures. Which is which?

I think the apple and chips are snack foods. I refer to "a snack" as "a small meal" because the dictionary define it that way "a small amount of food that is eaten between meals, or a very small meal"

 

[Maybo]

A snack is a small amount of food, like your cookies.

A snack food is a food people typically snack on. Popcorn is a snack food. Steak is not.

A few pieces of popcorn = a snack. Popcorn = a snack food. Do I get them right?

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

I think the apple and chips are snack foods. I refer to "a snack" as "a small meal" because the dictionary define it that way "a small amount of food that is eaten between meals, or a very small meal"

Okay. I don't think of a snack as a small meal, but the word very helps distinguish it.

Do you get it now?

 

[jutfrank]

I think the apple and chips are snack foods

Yes, good. But don't call them "snack foods". The apple and the chips are both snacks.

When you say snack foods, you're talking about types of food. This relates to your second question, which is a quite different question.

I refer to "a snack" as "a small meal" because the dictionary define it that way "a small amount of food that is eaten between meals, or a very small meal"

Yes, I know but I'm saying that that definition is very unhelpful and confusing. My point is that you must understand 'a snack' and 'a meal' as exclusive. In other words, a snack is not a meal. In fact, that's a key part of its meaning.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Yes, good. But don't call them "snack foods". The apple and the chips are both snacks. . . .

In American English, apples and potato chips are both snack foods — that is, things typically eaten for snacks. We buy snack foods so we'll have something to snack on.

They don't become snacks until you're snacking on them.

So, Maybo, you have a lot to digest here. Have a nice snack!

PS: You might also Google snack bar, a popular institution.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

A few pieces of popcorn = a snack.

Yes, if that's your snack.

A snack can also be a whole bowlful of popcorn. It's not a meal, right? A snack is food you eat between meals.

Popcorn = a snack food.

Yes, it's one of my favorites.

Did I get them right?

In those examples, yes, you did.