# grab dinner with me [AE, BE]



## Roymalika

I asked my friend: 
Would you like to *grab* (=have/eat) dinner with me tonight? 

self-made

Would it be idiomatic to use "grab" here in AE and BE?


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## elroy

In US English, yes.


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## Roymalika

Thanks so much

May I ask about BE please?


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## london calling

I've certainly come across it in BE.  'Grab dinner','grab a bite to eat', 'grab a beer', that kind of thing.

get the dinner


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## lingobingo

It’s common (e.g. Fancy grabbing a drink after work?), but not with “with me” added.


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## Andygc

lingobingo said:


> It’s common (e.g. Fancy grabbing a drink after work?), but not with “with me” added.


Common? Collocated with "dinner"? Grab a beer on the way home from work, by all means, or possibly "shall we grab something to eat on our way past the chippie?" But I wouldn't "grab dinner" in a month of Sundays.


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## lingobingo

I don’t disagree. But I was referring to the use of *grab*.


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## Andygc

I see that, but the OP asked specifically about grabbing dinner.


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## Glasguensis

Grabbing suggests a meal which is relatively quick - do you want to grab some dinner with me before the meeting, or will we get something afterwards? We more often talk about grabbing a sandwich.


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## lingobingo

Yes, I like it. “Fancy grabbing some dinner later?” is also idiomatic, even if the OP version is not.


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## Roymalika

lingobingo said:


> It’s common (e.g. Fancy grabbing a drink after work?), but not with “with me” added.





Andygc said:


> Common? Collocated with "dinner"? Grab a beer on the way home from work, by all means, or possibly "shall we grab something to eat on our way past the chippie?" But I wouldn't "grab dinner" in a month of Sundays.





Glasguensis said:


> Grabbing suggests a meal which is relatively quick - do you want to grab some dinner with me before the meeting, or will we get something afterwards? We more often talk about grabbing a sandwich.





lingobingo said:


> Yes, I like it. “Fancy grabbing some dinner later?” is also idiomatic, even if the OP version is not.


In the all examples which you people have provided, does "grab" mean "have/eat" or something else?


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## Glasguensis

Yes, it means to have/eat dinner.


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## lingobingo

It means *get*.


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## london calling

lingobingo said:


> It means *get*.


That to me means to prepare/cook dinner, not have/eat dinner.  See the thread I linked to above.


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## Keith Bradford

It means to get/have/eat dinner *quickly* and indiscriminately, *without careful consideration* of what you're eating or how.

Would you like to *grab* dinner with me tonight? I'm thinking of picking up a burger on the way home. 
Would you like to *grab* dinner with me tonight? I'm thinking of that new Michelin three-star restaurant.


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## lingobingo

london calling said:


> That to me means to prepare/cook dinner, not have/eat dinner.  See the thread I linked to above.


I looked at it, and I agree with its post #3!  (Which is not to say that no other Brits would use it that way, of course.)


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## london calling

lingobingo said:


> I looked at it, and I agree with its post #3!  (Which is not to say that no other Brits would use it that way, of course.)


This is another thing there is never any agreement on. I only ever use it to mean cook/prepare, or to get dinner from a takeaway.

Tom: Did you eat out last night?
Jan: No, we couldn't be bothered to go out so we got dinner from our local Indian.


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## Roymalika

Keith Bradford said:


> It means to get/have/eat dinner *quickly* and indiscriminately, *without careful consideration* of what you're eating or how.


May I please ask whether "get" here would mean "have/eat"? Or would it mean "buy"?

My second question is: why would a person need to have/eat dinner quickly and without careful consideration of what they're eating? Everyone do eats their meal with calmness and with careful consideration of what they eat, don't they?


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## lingobingo

It’s *grab* that implies speed! As in “grabbing a sandwich” because you haven’t got time for a proper meal.


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## Roymalika

lingobingo said:


> It’s *grab* that implies speed! As in “grabbing a sandwich” because you haven’t got time for a proper meal.


Thanks a lot, @lingobingo 

But:


Roymalika said:


> May I please ask whether "get" here would mean "have/eat"? Or would it mean "buy"?


I asked the above question in response to:


> It means to get/have/eat dinner quickly and indiscriminately, without careful consideration of what you're eating or how.


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## Glasguensis

That’s what happens when you ask a new question in your thread / someone answers the original question and it gets confusing.


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## Roymalika

Glasguensis said:


> That’s what happens when you ask a new question in your thread / someone answers the original question and it gets confusing.


Sorry for the confusion. 

This is what Keith said:


> It means to get/have/eat dinner quickly and indiscriminately, without careful consideration of what you're eating or how.


This is what I asked:


> May I please ask whether "get" here would mean "have/eat"? Or would it mean "buy"?


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## Glasguensis

It means have/eat. Although we can use grab to refer to simply buying, it would have to be clear from the context. Dinner implies eating.


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## Roymalika

Glasguensis said:


> It means have/eat. Although we can use grab to refer to simply buying, it would have to be clear from the context. Dinner implies eating.


If it just means have/eat, why did Keith write "get"? Lingobingo also said it means "get" (post#13)

Why does it also mean "get" though it's clear that it means "have/eat"? That's what is confusing me!


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## Cagey

Pay attention to the word: 'grab'.  it won't have exactly the same meaning as 'eat'; people have this explained in various ways.


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## Glasguensis

Roymalika said:


> If it just means have/eat, why did Keith write "get"? Lingobingo also said it means "get" (post#13)
> 
> Why does it also mean "get" though it's clear that it means "have/eat"? That's what is confusing me!


I expect they used get because we also use get in this context : grab some dinner, get some dinner. They both mean to have/eat dinner.


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## Roymalika

Very very confusing! 
It's caused me headache!


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## Aryan j

Look at Keith Bradford & Andygc's explanation on this (15 and 6 respectively)!
They explained well.


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## Roymalika

Aryan j said:


> Look at Keith Bradford & Andygc's explanation on this (15 and 6 respectively)!
> They explained well.


Confused!!!!


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## lingobingo

Just think of *grab*, in this and similar contexts, as being a figurative version of its physical meaning of suddenly taking hold of something, catching or grasping it. It’s not only applied to eating.

I need to grab some sleep while I’ve got the chance.​I’m off to the sales to see if I can grab a bargain.​You don’t need to cook for me. I’ll grab a bite to eat on the way home.​


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## a little edgy

All of the above excellent discussion applies in AE as well, by the way.


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## Aryan j

a little edgy said:


> All of the above excellent discussion applies in AE as well, by the way.


What is the full of AE?


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## lingobingo

American English.


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## Roymalika

Keith Bradford said:


> Would you like to *grab* dinner with me tonight? I'm thinking of picking up a burger on the way home.


The burger as the dinner wouldn't be sufficent for you and the person you're inviting to have it with you, would it? Only you or the person can eat it. Not you both!


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## Glasguensis

The burger is for the person making the suggestion, and here is being used as an example to indicate the *type* of food being proposed. If the other person accepts the offer then they will decide what to order for themselves: a burger or something else. Note that in this context it’s entirely possible for people to agree to go and get a burger without any of them actually intending to have a burger specifically: that merely defines the type of establishment they’ll go to.


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## zaffy

Roymalika said:


> May I please ask whether "get" here would mean "have/eat"? Or would it mean "buy"?


"Get" is the most confusing verb for non-natives. It can replace tens of other verbs, including "open". "Let me get that door for you!" You might want to see this: https://forum.wordreference.com/thr...t-the-most-confusing-verb-in-english.3770369/


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## lingobingo

It’s an extremely versatile verb that can stand in for all sorts of other ones. You should look at it that way, rather than condemning it as confusing. Its main uses, I think, are these, both literally and figuratively: *fetch/obtain/acquire* or *become* or *reach* (with *to*) or *grasp/understand* or* make* (in a causative sense).

EDIT: *get* should probably have its own thread.


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## Roymalika

Glasguensis said:


> The burger is for the person making the suggestion, and here is being used as an example to indicate the *type* of food being proposed. If the other person accepts the offer then they will decide what to order for themselves: a burger or something else. Note that in this context it’s entirely possible for people to agree to go and get a burger without any of them actually intending to have a burger specifically: that merely defines the type of establishment they’ll go to.


I think in this example, the speaker is using the word burger just to propose fast food to the other person. Now it's up to the other person whether they accept the offer or not. 
It's not that the speaker is actually going to buy a burger.

@Keith Bradford could you please comment whether I'm thinking right?


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## Keith Bradford

Roymalika said:


> If it just means have/eat, why did Keith write "get"? Lingobingo also said it means "get" (post#13)
> 
> Why does it also mean "get" though it's clear that it means "have/eat"? That's what is confusing me!


The word "get" has about a thousand meanings, and I'm not going to itemise them all.  

*To grab* = to seize in the fist in a quick, brutal manner. It's what a mechanical shovel does to a pile of rubble.  It's not what you would normally do with a delicate flower, carefully-prepared food, your baby or your girlfriend.

Here is a mechanical grab:


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## lingobingo

Roymalika said:


> I think in this example, the speaker is using the word burger just to propose fast food to the other person. Now it's up to the other person whether they accept the offer or not.
> It's not that the speaker is actually going to buy a burger.


Why are you going on about this at all? If someone says they’re going to “grab a burger”, they mean just that. It’s not a euphemism for a pizza or a kebab, and it doesn’t imply “I’m going to Burger King (say) to eat something other than a burger”.

And if someone says they’re going to “grab a sandwich”, guess what – they mean a sandwich. Otherwise, they’d say “a burger or something”, or “a sandwich or something”.


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## Aryan j

Where have you found that grab meaning 'to eat something'? 
Who did say it?


Roymalika said:


> I asked my friend:
> Would you like to *grab* (=have/eat) dinner with me tonight?


To me, it doesn't mean have a dinner.
I am not sure about grab used in this way.



lingobingo said:


> It’s *grab* that implies speed! As in “grabbing a sandwich” because you haven’t got time for a proper meal.


'Golloping' or gulping  may be better. What might you think?


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## lingobingo

No. It doesn’t mean eating the sandwich. It means getting/buying/obtaining one.


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## Glasguensis

The original question has been answered and this thread is now closed. It will be cleaned up and reopened in due course.


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