Food

Not yet, actually. I was just starting to think about it.

pass it backWere you about to go somewhere?

Not yet plus were you about to go somewhere turns a question into an invitation without you having to ask directly.

I grabbed something at my desk, which barely counts. It was a sandwich I do not remember eating.

pass it backHave you had a proper one?

Barely counts is a nice hedge, and the forgettable sandwich is a small joke that keeps it light.

Depends what counts as eating. If coffee counts then yes, I have had three meals.

pass it backAre you going somewhere good?

Playing with the definition is a natural move and lands well when someone is clearly about to suggest lunch.

I am easy, honestly. Anything except what we had yesterday.

pass it backWhat are you leaning towards?

I am easy is the standard phrase for no strong preference. Adding one exclusion is still helpful and prevents an endless loop.

Something warm and not too heavy. I have got an afternoon of meetings and I do not want to fall asleep in them.

pass it backDoes that rule out the noodle place for you?

Giving a constraint and the reason behind it makes deciding much faster than naming a cuisine.

I will decide the moment you suggest something I do not want. That is the only way I know what I want.

pass it backSo go on, suggest something terrible.

A genuinely funny and very human observation. It also efficiently gets the other person to commit first.

Really good, thank you.

This is a courtesy check, not a conversation. A short warm answer is the correct one and needs no pass back.

Really good — the sauce especially. I was not expecting it to be this rich.

pass it backIs that the one everyone orders?

One specific compliment is worth more than a general one, and staff usually enjoy answering what is popular.

All good, thank you. Could we get a bit more water when you have a moment?

If something is genuinely missing, this is the polite shape — praise first, request second, when you have a moment as the softener.

Not as much as I should. I have got about four meals I can make well and I rotate them forever.

pass it backAre you a cook?

Four meals on rotation is a very recognisable situation and much better than a plain no.

More than I used to. I started properly during a stretch when I was broke, and it turned out I actually enjoy it.

pass it backDid you learn from someone, or just work it out?

A reason for starting gives the answer a shape, and the follow-up opens a family or self-taught story.

I would not call it cooking. I assemble. There is a difference and my flatmate points it out regularly.

pass it backAre you an actual cook, or an assembler like me?

Inventing a distinction — cooking versus assembling — is playful and gives them a category to claim.

Up to a point. I can enjoy it, but I am not trying to prove anything.

pass it backAre you the one who orders it extra hot?

Up to a point is an honest middle answer that avoids both bragging and refusing.

I have been training, genuinely. Two years ago I could not do it at all and now I am somewhere in the middle.

pass it backDid you grow up eating spicy food?

Framing tolerance as something you built is more interesting than a fixed yes or no, and it invites their background.

I always say yes and then regret it about four bites in. Every time.

pass it backAre you going to order something that ruins me?

Predicting your own bad decision is funny and warm, and it playfully hands them control of the order.

Good idea. I am happy with whatever you fancy.

pass it backYou order and I will agree.

Fancy is the natural British verb for wanting a particular food. Handing over the decision is a friendly move when you have no strong view.

Yes, but let us get one thing we know and one thing neither of us has heard of. That is usually where the good meal is.

pass it backWhich one looks like the risk?

Proposing a rule for ordering is a small game that makes the meal more fun. It also quietly gives you a say.

I should warn you that I am a fast eater and I have no sense of fairness whatsoever.

pass it backAre you going to be able to keep up?

Confessing a shared-plate crime before it happens is funny and takes the awkwardness out of the last piece.

I eat everything, do not worry about me.

pass it backWhat were you thinking of?

Reassuring a host quickly is the kind thing to do. The question moves them back to the part they were excited about.

One thing, and it is a boring one. No shellfish, but everything else is fair game and I am genuinely easy.

pass it backDoes that ruin the plan?

Naming the restriction and immediately minimizing it stops a host worrying. Fair game is a natural phrase here.

Nothing I will admit to in advance. If something arrives that I hate I will simply eat it and say nothing, like an adult.

pass it backWhat is your one thing?

Comically overcommitting to politeness is warm, and it invites them to confess the food they actually cannot face.

Go on then, just a bit.

Go on then is the fixed English phrase for accepting something you were mildly resisting. It is warm and requires nothing further.

I would love to. I nearly ordered that and then talked myself out of it, so now I get to find out if I was wrong.

pass it backIs it as good as it looks?

Explaining that you almost ordered it is a compliment to their choice, and it sets up an easy question.

This is dangerous, because if it is good I am going to be sad about my own plate for the rest of the meal.

pass it backIs it worth the risk?

Anticipating food regret is a genuinely common feeling and almost always gets a laugh and a story.

Always. There is a separate compartment for it.

pass it backAre you having one?

The separate stomach for dessert is a joke that exists in most languages, so it travels well.

I never manage it. I order confidently at the start and then hit a wall about ten minutes before the menu comes back.

pass it backAre you better at pacing than me?

Hit a wall is a useful idiom well beyond food. Admitting a pacing failure invites a comparison rather than a decision.

I made that decision before I arrived. Everything since has been strategy.

pass it backShall we look at it now, before it is too late?

Treating a meal as a planned operation is a good running joke, and it moves the group toward actually ordering.

I can do it. Nothing ambitious, but it will be food.

pass it backDo you mind pasta again?

Nothing ambitious sets expectations honestly. Naming the likely dish saves a round of negotiation.

You cook and I will do everything afterwards. I would rather do twenty minutes of washing up than make one decision about dinner.

pass it backDeal?

Trading tasks by preference is how this actually gets resolved. Preferring cleaning to deciding is a very relatable position.

Whoever gets hungry first, which historically has always been me, so I suppose I have answered my own question.

pass it backHow long can you hold out?

Working out the answer mid-sentence is a natural speech pattern, and the challenge at the end keeps it playful.