Besides "I'm hungry" and "I'm starving", where starving is more than hungry, are there other phrases to indicate how hungry you are (including slang terms, if any)?
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"I could eat a horse" is a common phrase, but I guess you're looking for single words.– JoseKCommented Apr 26, 2011 at 13:14
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@JoseK, please post this as an answer. I'll edit my question to clarify that it doesn't have to be a single word.– Ivo RossiCommented Apr 26, 2011 at 13:16
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2"I'm all rumbly in my tumbly" would work with those that watched/remember Pooh Bear, but even they might look at you strangely...Funny. I think this is the second time I've mentioned Pooh Bear on this site this week...– kitukwfyerCommented Apr 26, 2011 at 15:35
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@F'x How is this not a single word request? Isn't consensus that single word requests do not have be literally single words in order to be tagged as such?– UticensisCommented Apr 27, 2011 at 10:58
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@Billare: if Ivo's looking for many synonyms, I don't see how it could be single word. To mean, single-word-request is when you say “I remember there's a word that would express this concept, but it forgot it”. Not a big deal anyway, maybe we could take this discussion to meta?– F'xCommented Apr 27, 2011 at 11:06
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12 Answers
My own favourite is esurient. Other than that, ravenous and famished are both quite strong. Malnourished, undernourished, underfed indicate chronicity. Empty is used informally, as is peckish (which is British).
I could eat a horse is a commonly used phrase.
I've just come across "Hungry as a wolf" credited as Italian, Turkish and Cornish phrases to mean "very hungry" but I've not heard this in English before.
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If Cornish is not a dialect of English, then what is it? Commented Apr 26, 2011 at 15:06
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In Cornwall it only applies when used as: 'Hungry as a werewolf! ;) Commented Apr 26, 2011 at 15:08
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Matt Эллен, Cornish is a Celtic language. English is a Germanic language.– TristanCommented Sep 19, 2013 at 14:50
I guess this is more upper-class/formal, but you could say
I'm famished; I could eat an entire elephant.
You could also say, though I'm not sure how "idiomatic" this is:
My stomach is growling.
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Hm, I just realized you usually only hear this word used this way, always in the past tense, always intransitive. Commented Apr 26, 2011 at 13:13
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2it's indeed quite dated as an infinitive: “the soldier growth into desperate terms, and spare not to say their officers, that they will run away and steal rather than famish”– F'xCommented Apr 26, 2011 at 13:16
I sometimes say I'm peckish when I'm slightly hungry. It's not quite as strong as saying I'm famished or starving.
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One of my colleagues has recently returned from a 6 month stay in Birmingham, and since then he is always peckish, never hungry :)– JoseKCommented Apr 27, 2011 at 6:01
Another couple to throw into the fire are:
Voracious, or covetous, as in:
A voracious, or covetous appetite
Or thinking in terms of slang that hasn't been mentioned, you could use dog-hungry.
These all really only count for the higher level of hunger, see: greed.
As far as slang goes, I have heard fungry, to mean 'f****ing hungry'. Of course, this is somewhat vulgar, so keep that in mind when using it.
Many idioms exist in this area. As mentioned, I could eat a horse, but there are more:
- I could eat an ox
- I could eat an ox between two bread vans
- I could eat the north end of a south bound bear
- I could eat a scabby donkey/dog
- Hungry as a bear
- My belly thinks my throat's been cut
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Thanks for clarifying. I thought you were referring to a physical location, seriously!– Jimi OkeCommented Apr 26, 2011 at 22:09
For added emphasis, you also sometimes hear (in BritEng at least):
- Starving hungry
- Starving to death
More tongue in cheek:
- WANT FOOD NOW
- Desirous of imminent sustenance
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In the US a common tongue-in-cheek one would be to double up and start moaning, or similar. "Desirous of imminent sustenance" amuses me. I'll have to use it and see what funny looks I get. :) Commented Apr 27, 2011 at 11:44
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"Desirous of imminent sustenance" amuses me too, though I can't really recommend it. I don't think that I invented it, but a quick search didn't bring anything up.– BenjolCommented Apr 27, 2011 at 11:53
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And "immediate" would make more sense than "imminent", but it doesn't sound so good :)– BenjolCommented Apr 27, 2011 at 11:53
I am so hungry; I could swallow a horse
I am so hungry; I could swallow a sheep
I am so hungry; I could swallow a hippo
I am so hungry; I could swallow a horse whole
I am so hungry; I could swallow a Big Mac :)
I'm so hungry I could eat a scabby donkey between six bread vans is another one, my mum uses it all the time.
I'm so hungry, I could eat a candy cane.