Q: It’s probably more common in America due to necessity. Have you SEEN the size of their portions over there?
A: Along with the name “Doggie Bag” and many dog illustrations, it stated, “Oh where, oh where have your leftovers gone? Oh where, oh where could they be? If you’ve had all you could possibly eat, Please bring the rest home to me!”
A: From then on, the idea swept across America. It just happened to coincide with an era where more and more people were dining out. By the 1970s, it was a firmly established thing to ask for a “doggie bag” after a meal. These didn’t have to be bags – they may have been a box or even foil twisted to look like a swan.
Q: Uh, um, nope. I’m talking about the original doggie bags, not the number 2 kind.
A: This worked fine, but didn’t account for all the leftover food on plates at restaurants. And so, beginning in San Francisco and Seattle, establishments started offering to package up your leftovers to take home to their pets.
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Here is another example from the news: They ate less if they were offered a doggie bag, or to-go box, before they got their meals: Apparently the idea of getting a “free” second meal outweighed the impulse to clean their plates. Source: Washington Posthttp://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/book-offers-tips-for-mindlessly-improving-your-eating-habits/2014/09/29/0f85c3a8-41a0-11e4-b437-1a7368204804_story.html
Slide 4: In the picture we see the front of the famous Ritz Hotel in central London. The inset picture shows guests enjoying afternoon sandwiches and cakes. The sentence reads: “Of course, if it hadn’t been the Ritz I’d have insisted he ask for a doggy bag to bring home the cakes and sandwiches that didn’t get eaten. But, really, you don’t go to afternoon tea at the Ritz for a doggy bag experience.” Source: http://oldgreypoet.wordpress.com/2000/05/19/putting-on-the-ritz/
Slide 2: The doggie bag (also spelled doggy bag) refers to: a small bag or container for leftover food that a restaurant may provide for a customer to take home
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An inhabitant of Dayton gave the same explanation in a letter published in the Journal Herald (Dayton, Ohio) of Thursday 24th May 1956:
The earliest instance of doggy bag that I have found is from the review of the White House, a restaurant in Golden Valley, a suburb of Minneapolis, by Will Jones in his column After Last Night, published in the Minneapolis Sunday Tribune (Minneapolis, Minnesota) of 19th December 1954:
The term doggy bag denotes a bag, provided on request by the management of a restaurant, in which a diner may take home any leftovers.
These leftovers were originally intended for the diner’s pet dog, according, for example, to the following by Otto R. Kyle in his column By the Way, published in the Decatur Daily Review (Decatur, Illinois) of Wednesday 10th June 1953:
The earliest occurrence of doggie pack that I have found is from the column The Lyons Den, by Leonard Lyons, published in The Montgomery Advertiser (Montgomery, Alabama) of Monday 7th April 1952; Lyons mentioned the term without giving any explanation:
The Meaning of DOGGIE BAG (3 Illustrated Examples)
Each week here at the Australian Writers’ Centre, we dissect and discuss, contort and retort, ask and gasp at the English language and all its rules, regulations and ridiculousness. It’s a celebration of language, masquerading as a passive-aggressive whinge about words and weirdness. This week, its a dog’s dinner…
Q: Uh, um, nope. I’m talking about the original doggie bags, not the number 2 kind.
A: During the early 1940s, the idea became mainstream across America during a time when pet food was scarce. Pet owners were encouraged to give their food leftovers at home to their best friend.
A: This worked fine, but didn’t account for all the leftover food on plates at restaurants. And so, beginning in San Francisco and Seattle, establishments started offering to package up your leftovers to take home to their pets.
A: Exactly. But they weren’t called “doggie bags” – they were given other one-off names like “pet pakits”.
A: This didn’t happen until the 1950s, when a New York steak house known for its large portions created the “doggie bag” so people could eat the rest at home – under the guise that the bone was for the dog.
Q: Well I guess it was. A: Sure, but the idea now was that you didn’t really need to have a pet. It became a euphemism for finishing the rest of your meal at home. That said, the greaseproof packaging created for use around the country doubled down on the idea.
A: Along with the name “Doggie Bag” and many dog illustrations, it stated, “Oh where, oh where have your leftovers gone? Oh where, oh where could they be? If you’ve had all you could possibly eat, Please bring the rest home to me!”
A: From then on, the idea swept across America. It just happened to coincide with an era where more and more people were dining out. By the 1970s, it was a firmly established thing to ask for a “doggie bag” after a meal. These didn’t have to be bags – they may have been a box or even foil twisted to look like a swan.
A: Haha. By the way, some etiquette guides of the day frowned upon the practice of asking for a doggie bag – especially outside America. Even to this day, Britain and Europe continue to struggle with the idea of asking for leftovers to take home.
Q: It’s probably more common in America due to necessity. Have you SEEN the size of their portions over there?
A: That’s true. One might argue that if they stopped piling the food so high, they wouldn’t need so many doggie bags, but there you go.
A: It can actually be both – although the original and more favoured term is “doggie”. British English uses “doggy” more than Americans. The key, as always, is to be consistent.
Q: So, to recap, the idea of a “doggie bag” was borne out of the food shortages of war, but evolved to be a no-shame way to say that you’d like to eat the rest of your meal at home later that evening in front of the refrigerator light in your PJs.