Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Whatever food happens to be available for a meal, especially when offered to a guest: Having arrived unannounced for supper, we had to take potluck.
- n. A meal at which each guest brings food that is then shared by all. Also called potluck supper.
- n. Whatever is available at a particular time: The scheduled flight was canceled and passengers had to take potluck on the other airlines.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. What may chance to be in the pot, in provision for a meal; hence, a meal at which no special preparation has been made for guests.
Wiktionary
- n. dated A meal, especially one offered to a guest, consisting of whatever is available.
- n. Whatever is available in a particular situation.
- n. proscribed A meal consisting of whatever guests have brought, particularly from different parts of the world; a potlatch.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. Whatever may chance to be in the pot, or may be provided for a meal.
WordNet 3.0
- n. whatever happens to be available especially when offered to an unexpected guest or when brought by guests and shared by all
Etymologies
- Spelled pot-luck before the 20th century, from pot + luck. The sense “meal offered by a host to an unexpected guest” dates to 1592; into the early 20th century, the word was used only to mean “meal provided by the host”. (Wiktionary)
Examples
“Later on inauguration day, Nixon was hosting what he described as a potluck dinner for the public.”
“And then there were the endless church suppers where you could always find a big bowl of it in potluck purgatory alongside the green jiggling Jell-O and fruit salad made with tiny marshmallows.”
“When I moved to Rhode Island, I landed smack dab in potluck country, where the pressure to come up with new things to bring to dinner can be intense.”
“One of our favorite appetizers for a potluck is just a brick of cream cheese spread with berry jam and Chipotle sauce poured over it, serve with crackers.”
“Riley and Griego got cooking nearly three years ago when they became mid-term potluck roommates in Jayhawker Towers.”
“I can't wait to see y'all again -- the potluck was a blast.”
“On December 12, we in Michoacan will celebrate International Migrant's Day with a potluck, which is supposed to represent the country from which each participant hails.”
“A potluck is a meal made up of dishes that have been cryogenically entombed in the freezers of church members for decades.”
“Pairing wine with a potluck is a real challenge - you can't make an informed wine decision when you don't know what your guests are bringing and haven't tasted the dishes.”
“Coming up soon is a community potluck, which is open to the public.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘potluck’.
-
WF - nominal compounds (figurative)
An extensive list I have been working on for quite some time. Feel free to add more of the kind if you miss any.
brainstorming, upside, downside, goldplating, bikeshedding, mudslinging, downgrading, headhunter, streamlining, mainstreaming, gerrymandering, frontloading and 503 more...
-
[Open] Frequently confused and misused
Words that are often used to mean something other than what they mean to lexicographers.
apprehensible, immanent, eminent, seamen, venal, venial, brassiere, brassier, brasserie, brazier, brasier, elegy and 38 more...
-
Things from my memory
nigger baby, mexican jumping bean, puddle jumper, mood ring, pet rock, cat scratch fever, taxman, hippie, vaseline, argyrol, mercurchrome, methiolade and 655 more...
-
Canadianisms
Canuck, timbit, Timbit, inukshuk, Canadianism, spiked, hyderize, canuckistan, Canuckistan, hoser, double double, Triumf and 364 more...
-
Vocab++
Words as I learn them.
fetid, mezzanine, hiatus, austerity, subliminal, resplendent, implacable, impugn, debase, exiguous, cirque, holster and 2538 more...
-
British Columbian terms
BC Specific terms.
Ogopogo, BCAA, Evergreen Line, Millennium Line, Highway of Tears, Sea to Sky, 604, Lotus Land, Kootenays, SkyTrain, Canada Line, Sea to Sky highway and 123 more...
-
Into the mix
A medley of mixtures, mostly ones where the constituents are still distinct. I tagged kinds of stew.
mixture, commixture, admixture, intermixture, intermingling, commingling, mingling, marriage, union, integration, syncretion, permutation and 129 more...
-
Just 'cause I like 'em, P
pellucid, pertain, pampas, prate, pinecone, philistine, pantocrator, papaverine, postmeridian, potlatch, pharology, pinniped and 622 more...
-
Christmas Pageant Chapter Two
Vocabulary for Chapter Two of the Best Christmas Pageant Ever.
pageant, potluck, primary, tradition, slouching, rehearsals, shepherd, privet hedge, intermediate, congregation, hymns, contribution and 4 more...
-
Shindigs
hoo-ha, shindig, soiree, convention, congress, confabulation, rap session, bash, blowout, fete, gala, festival and 36 more...
-
Random
pidgin-english, run-of-the-mill, happy as a clam, logorrhoea, pigeonholing, currahee, verbal diarrhoea, cornerstone, sodomize, petunia, libido, hirsute and 25 more...
-
Y'all come back now!
Words that remind me of Grandma's.
mosquito, kudzu, potluck, mud, famous, county, honey, sugar, sweetie, reckon, loblolly, bakelite and 15 more...
-
Upplucked
Yom.
apricot, macadamia, flan, cheesecake, sushi, sprouts, marmalade, chai, smoothie, cupcake, lasagna, spirulina and 40 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for potluck.
reesetee Ha! Nov 13, 2008
bilby Conversation subsequent to the potluck held by our food activist group about a month ago: -
Foodie 1: That lentil and onion dip was excellent.
Foodie 2: Thanks. I like the recipe too.
Foodie 1: It went so well with the bread.
Foodie 2: Yeah, funny that. Amazing what you can find in a dumpster.
Foodie 1: What? You got the bread from a dumpster?!
Foodie 2: Would have gone to waste otherwise.
Foodie 1: And brought it along here?!
Foodie 2: Why not?
Foodie 1: I feel violated. Nov 13, 2008
mollusque Antonym of potlatch. Sep 3, 2008