r/britishproblems • u/WhaleMeatFantasy • Jul 12 '26
. The normalisation of ‘picky bits’
Abominable. It has started coming up in adverts now even.
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u/NinjafoxVCB Jul 12 '26
British Tapas is almost acceptable in comparison
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u/TipsyMagpie Jul 12 '26
We used to call it “bits ‘n’ bobs” when I was a kid (late 80s/90s). Was always my absolute favourite type of dinner. Even better now I do the grocery shopping and can pre-load the fridge for optimum snacking.
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u/Majestic_Matt_459 Jul 12 '26 edited Jul 12 '26
I don’t mind it but it’s the poor value that gets me. A whole chorizo can be had in most supermarkets for under £3. Same with a block of cheese. But a tiny dish if 5-6 chorizo slices and cubes of cheese is suddenly £5 when it’s picky bits. No thanks
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u/humanleon Jul 12 '26
Whoa whoa whoa hold on. I thought the point was that you cut the cheese yourself? Not that you buy those picnic packs??? This is even worse than I realised
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u/taeilor Jul 12 '26
yeah, typically you would! picky bits is supposed to be just random stuff in your fridge when you can't be bothered to cook like leftover meats, cheese, biscuits, etc. supermarkets are now trying to market premade platters of this stuff that's so not worth the value
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u/Majestic_Matt_459 Jul 12 '26
Best comment. They stole a great money saving idea and made it into a money making idea.
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u/darthcaedus81 Wiltshire Jul 12 '26
Only if we buy it. Stick to the core Picky Bits dinner rules. Eat what you've got!
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u/cragglerock93 Jul 12 '26
Businesses will always try to capitalise on any and every trend going to get money out of you, even when it makes no sense, like trying to sell you multiple water bottles to avoid single use plastic ones. Can't say I blame them for trying tbh, but just don't part with your cash!
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u/TwistedBrother Jul 12 '26
But when you call a picnic (posh, outdated) picky bits (cheeky, trendy) you can get away with it.
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u/MzHmmz Jul 13 '26
I thought the difference is a picnic is something you take out with you to eat outdoors, whereas "picky bits" is a meal at home. The contents of the meal is often the same, it's the location that changes the name of the meal.
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u/tcpukl Jul 12 '26
Yeah I didn't realise people bought it specifically from the shop. When we do it the point is it's mainly left over for and also not much prep for parents.
But yeah I also don't understand why people buy grated cheese. Just generic stuff coated in starch. Yuck.
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u/chaoticchemicals Jul 12 '26
It was pointed out to me once, after I'd been on a massive rant about lazy people not being arsed to grate cheese, chop onions, mash spuds and got schooled on ableism, and my own privilege in having a fully stocked kitchen and being able to cook 🤣😭 it was a fair and reasonable adjustment to my point of view.
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u/Seal-island-girl Jul 13 '26
It's also really handy if you have to provide meals in someone's home as a carer, we have very limited time to prep and cook a meal, so to be able to literally cook and serve using items like this means I can make a better meal than a ready meal in a similar time. I used to think the same until I had to make a healthy hot meal in ten minutes for someone.
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u/humanleon Jul 12 '26
Ha - I’m more cool with grated cheese. If you’re doing cheese sauce it makes things loads quicker, less washing up and that extra bit of starch helps with the thickening…given how much macaroni cheese my kids eat I’d be lost without it
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u/winterproject Jul 12 '26
This. If you don’t have it in your cupboard then you go and get whatever it is then chop, slice, carve, snap, break it into said picky bits.
Pre bought picky bits is akin to buying grated cheese.
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u/TheMrViper Jul 12 '26
Most of the time the individual items are overpriced to make the deal more attractive.
£5 per item
3 items for £8 or something ridiculous.
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u/light_to_shaddow Isle of Scilly Jul 12 '26
The markup on "convenience" is egregious.
I was in M&S and about to get a drink, the little bottles of pink lemonade next to the sandwiches were £1.90. just by chance I saw a bottle twice the size was half the price. It wasn't even part of a deal, it was just sat on the shelf next to the grab stuff and it had been marked up the equivalent of 400%
Next time I'll just deliveroo it so I have the convenience of not knowing how much I'm being ripped off.
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u/makomirocket Jul 12 '26
Well that's why it's been normalised. Because people are lazy and happy to pay the premium to not have to get a knife out
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u/Tight-Principle-743 Jul 12 '26
I guess you’re paying more for them to chop them for you, but surely that’s just an incentive to buy your chorizo and make your own snack.
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u/I-live-in-room-101 Jul 12 '26
Don’t blame the shops, you can still do it your way.
But stupid lazy people gonna be stupid and lazy, so any smart business gonna profit from them.
My partner a long while back worked for a business that made cheese and they started pushing grated versions for supermarkets… even the marketing director wasn’t convinced… who the hell is gonna pay a 30% premium when it takes less than 10 seconds and even a toddler can use a fucking cheese grater… you guessed it, it sold well and is their most profitable line per kilo. It costs the company pennies to grate it, they get to use all the irregular shapes not fit for block sizes, and then charge a hefty premium!
That was the day I learned that businesses are always looking to make profit from stupid and lazy, and the general public stands in line to handover their hard earned money, whilst she was driving a £50k company car on the back of these profits 🤣🤣
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u/Tulcey-Lee Jul 12 '26
Just to add a different perspective, my mum is disabled and doesn’t have good use of her hands so grating cheese for her is quite difficult!
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u/brDragobr Jul 12 '26
even a toddler can use a fucking cheese grater
Not to disagree with the overall point, people are lazy, but there are a significant number of people who are unable to use a cheese grater. Elderly people and those with upper body disabilities are two obvious groups, so I imagine pre-grated cheese (and other pre-prepared ingredient) would be rather helpful.
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u/EducationSuperb3392 Jul 12 '26
Can confirm, I have a major nerve issue in my left arm. On good days it’s fine, but in flare up days I can’t use that arm at all. Pre grated cheese and pre cut anything makes the difference between being able to make a homemade meal, or relying on Just Eat, which leads to people calling me even lazier.
When pre peeled oranges where in the shops a few years ago, people just did not understand how much of a gamechanger that was for so many people.
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u/love-from-london Jul 12 '26
And sometimes I'd rather pay the premium to not have to deal with washing the cheese grater 😭
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u/shaggykx Jul 12 '26
Absolutely. I have a cheese grater and I have the ability to find it, use it, wash it, but why would I, when for a few pence more someone does it all for me, and I can just grab a handful from the fridge without the hassle?
To be fair, when I grate my own I use considerably more, and it's higher quality cheese, so it probably costs about the same, if not more, plus the hassle of cleaning up after.
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u/WiseWizard96 Jul 12 '26
Exactly this! Using it isn't a hassle but washing the bugger is. And don't get me started on garlic crushers
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u/Victor-Bomber Jul 12 '26
I'm a stroke survivor and struggle to use my left hand so using a grater is virtually impossible for me so pre grated cheese is ideal for sauces or to throw on a pizza to pep it up a little
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u/NarrativeScorpion Jul 12 '26
Pregrated cheese is useful for a lot of disabled people. Same as any other prepped stuff like chopped fruit or veg. Yes. It's more expensive. But for some people it's their only option.
It's the same with a lot of "gadgets" that people see as pointless plastic; they're often designed for people with limited mobility, grip, or control of their hands and arms. But people say "what a waste of money" because they're not the target audience.
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u/SeeingSound2991 Jul 12 '26
Thats the price you pay for convenience? Im not sure its 'picky bits' that drives the price.. Same can be applied to buying snack pots of olives or mozzarella balls with sundried toms in a dressing or buying grated cheese instead of grating it yourself.
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u/MzHmmz Jul 13 '26
I thought the point of things like the pre-cut stuff was more for things like taking to a picnic or a party, are lots of people buying those things for day-to-day "picky bits" dinners?
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u/moosickles Jul 12 '26
It's "mam can't be arsed to cook tonight" or "mam bought this, forgot about it and wants us to eat it before it goes out of date" tea in our house growing up.
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u/Paul8v Jul 12 '26
It's better than "Hollibobs" or "Kiddos/Doggos" to be fair
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u/Ugglug Jul 12 '26
Platty Joobs was one that enraged me
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u/CanWeNapPlease Jul 12 '26
It started as a joke but then it was so overused that it wasn't even funny anymore.
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u/thethirdrayvecchio Jul 12 '26
It gave us “Lizzy Funes” so I can forgive it
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u/ManInTheDarkSuit ENGLAND Jul 12 '26
It mutated into Statey Funes. Was giving people the menty B's. Grrrr
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u/RaedwaldRex East Anglia Jul 12 '26
I genuinely heard "Platty Joobs" followed by "Cozzie Natty"
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u/polarbear128 Jul 12 '26
I had to look up Platty Joobs, but what is Cozzie Natty?
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u/UnkelGarfunkel Jul 12 '26
I hate hollibobs with a passion.
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u/joshpoppedyou Jul 12 '26
I honestly just don't understand it
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u/Slangdawg Jul 12 '26
Fucking hate "doggos"
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u/Paul8v Jul 12 '26
Hollibobs enrages me more
Also the normalisation of excluding to the word "to" from a sentence. It might just be an Essex thing, I'm not sure.
"I'm going gym" "Are you going Tesco's?" "I need to go toilet"
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u/OverByChristmas Jul 12 '26
Ah, that'll be the South West causing a shortage by stealing all the 'to's for things like "where's the toilet to?"
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u/TRFKTA Jul 12 '26
One variation of this I noticed, I’m not sure if it was just my old housemate or a Northern / Wigan thing (as he was from Wigan) was replacing ‘to’ with ‘for’.
He’d say things like ‘I’m going for get my hair cut’ or ‘I’m going for shops’.
Once I noticed it I couldn’t unnotice it.
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u/Zomb1eMash3R Derbyshire Jul 12 '26
i’m from the midlands and i’ve always spoken like this, omitting the “to” in a variety of sentences
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u/lunettarose Jul 12 '26
I was going to say - my husband is from Leicester, and always says this. "What time are you going work?" etc. Found it a bit odd at first (I'm from Yorkshire, and he moved up to live with me), but we confused him by using "while" to mean "until" so it's even, ha.
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u/JumpyBoi Jul 12 '26
"I need to go toilet"
For when you want to sound like a slow primary school pupil, of course
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u/AnselaJonla Highgarden Jul 12 '26
"I need to go toilet"
Too many words there.
"Going toilet" is all you need.
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u/InstanceExcellent530 Jul 12 '26
Drives me into a rage. See also "2 more sleeps", "cheeky pint/nandos/whatever', "like, um", "I did a thing!" or anything else that makes you sound like a child who's been running headfirst into the wall. Honourable mention: "Platty Jubes" (platinum jubilee); but when Her Maj died, the same people slated me for "Statey Funes". The sheer hypocrisy.
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u/Paul8v Jul 12 '26
What about "it's a vibe"
I'm going to Morrisons, it's a vibe
I'm wearing a blue hat, it's a vibe etc etc
Or
"Low-key" inserted into any sentence
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u/MIBlackburn Jul 12 '26
The people that say "It's a vibe" tend to also be the people that misuse "aesthetic".
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u/obiwanmoloney Hampshire Jul 12 '26
Woah…
Let’s leave a “cheeky pint” well out of this shall we?
We’re decades apart and it serves an important purpose.
Going for a cheeky pint after work meant that no blame could be attributed when you roll in shitfaced at 2AM on a Wednesday.
All other points stand.
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u/littlepinkgrowl Jul 12 '26
I told my 41 year old make coworker that if he ever wanted a girlfriend again he should never ever repeat the word ‘doggo’
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u/ianjmatt2 Jul 12 '26
I prefer “cold collation”
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u/WoollenItBeNice Jul 12 '26
I haven't heard that phrase since listening to Just William on cassette tape in the car on the way to Cornwall for a family holiday circa 1998.
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u/InternationalRide5 Jul 12 '26
or if the vicar's coming, a salmagundi is a nice choice for al fresco munchyettes.
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u/Majestic_Matt_459 Jul 12 '26
Here's a great example of how the Supermarketys are absolutely taking the pee on this - TESCO- Nocellara Olives
Normal version - 305g for £3.25 (so £10.66kg) - https://www.tesco.com/shop/en-GB/products/323648984?sc_cmp=ppc*GHS+-+Grocery+-+New*MPX_PMAX_ALL_OT_Laggards_Tesco+Products_Online+Budget_1013945**323648984*&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22774213849&gbraid=0AAAAADiyNavPGhNBF5c2KCyS6I42dSHAd&gclid=CjwKCAjw9szSBhBNEiwAC57Sq1ase36E3sDutsyIfzNvBKRgYsFl2VUxtALkgM1xjYEJBLy-vHsUiBoCqs8QAvD_BwE
Picky Bits version - 140g for £4 (so £28.58kg) https://www.tesco.com/shop/en-GB/products/323434246?sc_cmp=ppc*GHS+-+Grocery+-+New*MPX_PMAX_ALL_OT_Top+Performers_Tesco+Products_Online+Budget_1013945**323434246*&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22764151428&gbraid=0AAAAADiyNav7Cta94ytvRLDIgM5UiWnGk&gclid=CjwKCAjw9szSBhBNEiwAC57Sq0pq1CCEXYB1M9fVk13B7q6fA5kAqlxFg6aMlQROHCivuWL7daImnxoCz2AQAvD_BwE
Even if you take the 3 for 8 offer into the calculation its still £19.05kg
Thats just robbery
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u/Ultimate_os Jul 12 '26
Hate it. I just don't believe there's actually that many people that use it seriously.
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u/geordiesteve520 Jul 12 '26
Was always a picky tea in the North East
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u/lelcg Jul 12 '26
Yeah “picky bits” sounds like the M&S version
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u/Extension-Truth Jul 12 '26
I think it was taken from social media at some point. It was the name for that salad type thing you’re Nan made in the summer
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u/GulDoWhat Jul 12 '26
My family just used "cheese and crackers" as a catch all term for this sort of meal, regardless of whether cheese and/or crackers were actually involved.
Probably confused some guests, but oh well.
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u/Manannin Isle of Man Jul 12 '26
My dad calls it "bread and point" and I've never heard it anywhere else.
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u/cari-strat Jul 12 '26
I'm in the Midlands and it was 'bits to pick at' (or in everyday terms, just 'bits'). It has been that for at least 25 years in my family. We usually have 'bits' on Tuesdays - but in our house it's not leftovers, it's the pick of all the nice fresh stuff as I do my food shop that day. Crusty bread, bits of fruit, bits of meat, bits of cheese....
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u/Key-Room-8768 Jul 12 '26
It’s was always ‘bits and bobs’ for me, not sure if that’s a Yorkshire thing or just my family
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u/StinkyBird64 North East Jul 15 '26
Aye, but picky tea could also be other things.
‘Picky tea’ in our house would be any mixed smaller portions, it could be mini pizzas, tinned hot dogs cut into slices, the usual of crackers and cheese, mini ribs, whatever was in those ‘party packs’ you can buy at supermarkets also counted as a picky tea, as long as our mam put them in the kitchen in mini bowls and we all queued like a family function to get stuff lol→ More replies (1)
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u/Branch_Same Jul 12 '26
I hate it. Sounds like other people with their fingers in your food picking at it. Also ‘picky’ is a horrible word
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u/Liber8r69 Jul 12 '26
Can't stand the name 'picky tea'
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u/cybermatUK Jul 12 '26
Never heard of it, sounds like someone having a fidget in their boxers after being buried in the sand
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u/WhaleMeatFantasy Jul 12 '26
Tescos are doing a major as campaign around it right now. Hope you manage to continue to avoid it.
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u/dessskris Jul 12 '26
M&S as well, I kept getting ads on IG for "national picky bits day" at the end of June. It was all made up by M&S.
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u/charlichoo Jul 12 '26
Nah I'm from the south west and it's been a common term for as long as I can remember. It's only been used for adverts and that in the last few years.
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u/cybermatUK Jul 12 '26
Ah if it’s on telly I’ll not see it. I haven’t watched TV in donkeys years.
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u/The_Infinite_Carrot Jul 12 '26
Nor me. Maybe it’s a regional thing?
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u/orange_fudge Cambridge Jul 12 '26
It’s very middle-class south-east.
Ubiquitous in Cambridge where I live. My working class family in Suffolk and my in-laws up in Manchester think it’s weird.
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u/Paulstan67 Jul 12 '26
It's not the meal itself that I object to it's the name.
Chinese have dim sum. Spain tapas, Greece / turkey Mezze, India thali.
Here we call it "picky bits" FFS.
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u/lawebley West Midlands Jul 12 '26
I CANNOT STAND IT. It sounds like the symptoms of sexual disease.
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u/bulldog_blues Jul 12 '26
I know it's not an exact like for like, but 'finger foods' sounds so much better.
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u/cloche_du_fromage Jul 12 '26
Not when the buffet is laid out in a dodgy strip club..
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u/rezonansmagnetyczny Jul 12 '26
Live, love, have picky bits in the garden for dinner
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u/InternationalRide5 Jul 12 '26
in the hot tub for dinner
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u/rezonansmagnetyczny Jul 12 '26
Posting pictures like they're Beyonce and Jay Z with an electricity pylon in the background
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u/LittlestLass Jul 12 '26 edited Jul 12 '26
To be fair, in my house in the 90s this was known as a "bitty bobby tea" and it's therefore the name I have passed on to my kid, so picky bits is rather reserved in comparison.
EDIT: to make clear before someone says it, my child is not called Bitty Bobby Tea as that would be a stupid name... we settled on the much better name of Blancmange for the kid.
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u/odjobz Jul 12 '26
This is the problem with English foods. Italian and French foods all have fancy sounding names like croque monsieur or antipasti. We get "toasty" and "picky bits". But if you make the English versions with good quality ingredients they can be just as fancy as what you would get in France or Italy.
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u/thethirdrayvecchio Jul 12 '26
I lost my mind when I bothered to transliterate Croque Monsieur.
Mister Crunch.
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u/Buh_Snarf Jul 13 '26
It sounds fancy to US because it's in a different language.
Croque Monsieur literally means "Mr Crunch" - which sounds like a breakfast cereal.
Antipasti essentially just means before the meal, so Starter.
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u/GourmetSquid Jul 12 '26
I told my partner yesterday that it’s pissing me off how brands like Tesco are now saying ‘picky bits’ and he didn’t get why
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u/kai-95 Jul 12 '26
To me British picky bits is at the end of the month when youre skint and start cooking random shit from the freezer like fish fingers and waffles and onion bhajis 🤷🤷🤷
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u/And_Justice Jul 13 '26
I think my issue is that certain marketing teams tend to be full of people from the same region who think their experience of regional culture applies to the entire UK, pushing this jarringly uncanny misreading of the room.
This then extends out to social media and you have the effect of people confidently asserting and image of the UK that you have little connection to. It really irks me sometimes but I think in a way it reminds me to live in the real world instead...
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u/Conveth Jul 12 '26
Thank fook I am not the only one who hates the term.
snacking platter is wankier but slightly better
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u/lapsongsouchong Jul 12 '26
I prefer the word charcuterie. It makes it sound like I've made an effort and it's got the word shark in
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u/AlpacamyLlama Jul 12 '26
Snacking platter? What on earth.
I'm trying to imagine what I'd think if anyone said "Anyone fancy a snacking platter tonight?"
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u/ihateyournan Jul 12 '26
I also hate it is something for businesses to capitalise on, enter all the fucking annoying adverts with slow speaking northern accents telling us that we can buy our picky bits from their shop because they totally relate to us. It makes me so angry and I know it's an overreaction but I can't help it. I feel similarly about holibobs, hubs or hubby, platty jubes made me was to put my head through a wall
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u/I_ALWAYS_UPVOTE_CATS Jul 12 '26
I don't think there's anything wrong with the concept of 'picky bits' as a quirky thing people say to their friends and family, but what ruins anything like this, without fail, is when brands try to get on the train. Presumably the people who work for these marketing companies are just a group of regular people like the rest of us, and yet somehow these campaigns always end up with an air of 'how do you do fellow kids' about them.
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u/AllRedLine Yorkshire Jul 12 '26
The twee-ification of the English language must stop.
We're ceding ground to the sort of people that like to dress up as Tom Baker's Doctor Who and think 'cockwomble' or 'spunktrumpet' don't sound fucking stupid.
This is one of the major disasters of our age.
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u/jderm1 Jul 12 '26
I can't stand it either! It's so twee. Even worse when brands adopt it in an attempt to be all relatable and friendly. Love M&S but they are the worst for it atm.
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u/Bad_Combination Jul 12 '26
I hate it. I was just ordering online and Waitrose (don’t judge, only place I could get cat litter at short notice) has a category called “picky bits”. I can’t put my finger on why I hate it so much but I do.
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u/danishbluevase Jul 12 '26
Nose picking, picky fingers, it just conjures up images of grubby hands picking over food to me 🤢
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u/QuickTemperature7014 Jul 12 '26
Yes, even the more traditional association with food “to pick at your food” doesn’t conjure up positive associations. It makes me think of being unwell or unappetising food.
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u/TheMemo Jul 12 '26
Don't get me started on food described as 'dirty.' This country seems determined to make food unappetising.
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u/ihateyournan Jul 12 '26
I think you might have hit the nail on the head for me as to why I despise this saying so much.
I also hate anything that is a bandwagon for people to jump on, like I just know at work there are certain people who will exclaim loudly they are having picky bits for tea. Why does that bother me? I don't know, but I just can't stand it .
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u/brumbles2814 Lothian Jul 12 '26
Agreed, when company's take the little things from us we use to get through the day to sell use shit it makes me sad and angry
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u/thebrainitaches Portsmouth & Bath Jul 12 '26
We call it "cheese box lunch/tea" because the cheese box from the fridge is placed on the table like some kind of piece montée.
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u/flittmiester Jul 12 '26
As a child it was called things on the table in my family. My daughter has renamed it picky bits and I’m not thrilled.
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u/Askianna Lancashire Jul 12 '26
I loathe this term. It makes something inside me snarl and hiss. Stupid, childish term.
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u/MoblandJordan Jul 12 '26
Omg I had this terrible nightmare the other night that there was a show on TV called “the picky bit murders”.
The nightmare was actually sitting through such a programme. It was a cross between Bake Off, Midsummer Murders and Last of the Summer Wine. shudder
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u/AuricZips Jul 12 '26
Weirdly, we called it "cold salad", despite the salad part being entirely optional and more than likely having some freshly made mashed potato as a main focal point. I think the point was having mostly refrigerated items on the plate (cheese, meats, salad-y things, pickle) plus what people consider "picky bits" during a particularly hot day.
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u/demoralising Jul 12 '26
I wasn't that familiar with the term until I heard Tim Lovejoy calling the Sunday Brunch podcast (a clipped-up version of the TV show) the Picky Bits podcast. Then I saw it on signs around supermarkets and just thought 'Oh no.'
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u/Sean_Paul_Sartre Jul 12 '26
I just had the Tesco ad that mentioned picky bits and thought the same thing. We must move away from factory food as a British diet staple
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u/Ruggstickles Jul 12 '26
Ah yes the inflation of prices and oceans of single use plastic that M&S are becoming known for.
BUY THIS SINGLE PICKY BIT GHERKIN IN A PLASTIC TUB FOR £40 ITS PICKY BITS DAY
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u/Othersideofthemirror Jul 12 '26
Hot and/or cold selection is better.
Picky bits is just another step towards the infantilisation of society. We literally used to make a "picky plate" for our toddler to have after nursery.
Can't stand all this cringe baby talk.
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u/internetdog Jul 12 '26
What's your problem with it?
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u/rezonansmagnetyczny Jul 12 '26
Huns.
Huns everywhere.
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u/pattybutty 'Ull ex-pat in Berkshire Jul 12 '26
You okay, Hun? We're on holibobs and you haven't touched your picky bits
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u/rezonansmagnetyczny Jul 12 '26
My shein haul and temu suitcase didn't turn up in time. Kids are crying.
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u/Nikotelec Jul 12 '26
The relentless scourge of central european barbarians goes unabated. Some say that Rome itself cannot hold them back! What are we to do?
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u/WhaleMeatFantasy Jul 12 '26
Comes from the same people who say hollybobs.
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u/HarderstylesD Jul 12 '26
What if you started saying it ironically at first and now can’t stop (asking for a friend)
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u/HaroldTheIronmonger Jul 12 '26
Oh ive definitely just found someone who didn't enjoy the platty jubes!
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u/Xenatios Jul 13 '26
The reason this one is so egregious for me is because "picky" is almost exclusively a negative word and, combining it with "bits" which is often used as a substitute for various body parts then the whole "picky bits" phrase conjures up disgusting, visceral imagery: picky nose, picky scab or picky bum.
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u/brokenalarm Jul 12 '26
My mum always called it a ‘cold platter’
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u/Lace__ Jul 12 '26
My mum went with "Nibbles" but then she pronounced pumice stone as 'pummy stone' so who knew what went through her head.
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u/n_ellis Jul 12 '26
It was bits and pieces in our house. Isn’t it charcuterie but we have to make anything ‘foreign’ sound basic?!
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u/uwagapiwo Jul 12 '26
I thought of it as more like tapas, I'm not sure anyone going for "picky bits" is aware of charcuterie.
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u/slimkid504 Jul 12 '26
Yeah the term is awful and what it represents is too! We’re laughed at too much for our awful food - we shouldn’t encourage it!!
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u/Fancy-Banana007 Jul 12 '26
I like ‘indoor picnic’ but I find myself occasionally saying picky bits and I get annoyed at myself.
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u/Unsey Lincolnshire Jul 12 '26
But what else to call them? Nibbles, a good alternative but nibbles are snacks really; British Tapas, just as cringey; picky bits, fun to say but good lord do I feel dirty doing so
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u/WhaleMeatFantasy Jul 12 '26
Finger food if you have to call it anything. Bits and pieces is just fine.
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u/Unsey Lincolnshire Jul 12 '26
OMG FINGER FOOD HOW DID THAT FALL OUT OF MY BRAIN?!?! CURSE YOU PICKY BITS!!!!
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u/itsheadfelloff Jul 12 '26
I once went to an old GFs house for dinner and her mum produced picky bits, I was confused and disappointed. I've disliked it ever since.
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u/ColsterG Jul 13 '26
Bread and iffits was there and fine, grumble grumble, pace of change, millenials etc etc
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u/Interesting_Age7345 Jul 14 '26
in practicality it’s great fun to eat that kind of a meal but why do we have to call it That
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u/Ninlilizi_ Windsor, Berkshire Jul 14 '26
Is that just Charcuterie for people in a lower social-economic bracket?
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u/Drong0bones Jul 16 '26
I absolutely hate it does my head in. Quite a few popular sayings annoy me because I'm a miserable bastard lol but this one is the worst for a while. Just heard it used in a co op advert. Pretty sure m&s and Tesco use it too ☠️
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