passing dishes
Circulating the platters
Passing dishes refers to the act of handing serving dishes or plates around a table during a meal, transferring food from person to person: We spent Thanksgiving passing dishes of turkey and stuffing.
The phrase captures the communal ritual of shared meals where food circulates rather than being served individually.
It can also mean handing dirty dishes toward whoever is washing up.
- servingMeasured food portion
- plattersLarge serving dishes
- dinner tableFurniture for shared meals
- tableHorizontal furniture surface
- familyRelated people together
Sunday dinner · dinner · bowls · hands · reaching · reach across · helping hands · sharing · potluck · gathering · heaping · spooning · clockwise · hospitality · portions · feast · communal · food sharing
- family dinnersupper, dinner, Sunday dinner, Thanksgiving dinner, family dinner
- formal diningplace setting, dinner, porcelain, tablecloth, silverware
- table mannerstable manners, napkin folding, chewing quietly, elbows off table, proper posture
- eatingchewing, biting, swallowing, nibbling, munching
food movement direction
passing dishesreaching across
passing, dishes, pass, dish, passed, passes, passer, passable, impassable