Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (also chaw) food, esp. in an institutional setting, i.e. an army mess-hall, prison etc.

1856		Spirit of the Age 27 Nov. 2/2: Ah Chow—ah in the Celestial lingo means Mr. Chow, something good to eat [DA].
1895		Coburg Leader (Vic.) 12 jan. 2/5: That chorus [...] ‘We fancy up to now there has been too much blooming chow’ was a if great triumph.
1899		New Oxford Item (Gettysburg, PA) 7/2: ‘Chow-chow’ is a word which the chinaman took to the Philippines [...] It means ‘to eat,’ ‘eating’ or ‘food’. The soldier [...] has shortened it to a single ‘chow.’.
1902		Ade Forty Modern Fables 167: He insisted that they add ‘Please’ whenever they shot in a Request for more Chow.
1916		‘A-No. 1’ Snare of the Road 66: ‘Chow’ in the parlance of the bluejackets stands for grub, food and victuals in general.
1918		L.N. Smith Lingo of No Man’s Lnd 21: CHAW or CHUCK Bread, as distinguished from ‘hard-tack’ or ship's biscuits.
1929		J. Lait Broadway Melody 13: ‘Some chow.’ He pointed to a menu.
1935		D. Lamson We Who Are About to Die 92: Mainline chow is another matter.
1946		Mezzrow & Wolfe Really the Blues 34: They get tired of scuffling for their chow, and want to retire.
1953		L. Uris Battle Cry (1964) 417: I wish they wouldn’t give us so much chow.
1967		(con. 1920s) J. Thompson South of Heaven (1994) 109: I told him that the chow was good.
1967		M. Braly On the Yard (2002) 12: What’s for chow on the main line tonight?
1977		E. Bunker Animal Factory 138: ‘Gotta get some chow, boss,’ he said.
1985		B. Simon ‘Outers’ Born in the RSA (1997) 39: Two days on the road without a chow and now this has got to happen to me.
1987		T. Wolfe Bonfire of the Vanities 40: What a vast swarm had to be fed! And every morning the chow came in.
1990		(con. early 1950s) J. Ellroy L.A. Confidential 151: He habituated all-night coffee shops – usually to scrounge chow.
1996		P. Beatty White Boy Shuffle 25: That’s worth a couple of years, easy. Chow’s at six o’clock.
2002		J. Lerner You Got Nothing Coming 11: Ten minutes for chow, convict, then roll it the fuck up!
2012		D. O’Donnell Locked Ward (2013) 77: You have been caught eating very ordinary hospital chow featuring lumps of dead pig.
2017		S.M. Jones August Snow [ebook] Frank analyzed his bagel. [...] ‘The chow on this job has been really outstanding’.
2023		(con. 1962) J. Ellroy Enchanters 206: The [orphanage kids got TLC, good chow [...] and outings.

2. (also chowtime) a mealtime, usu. in some form of institution.

1898		O.K. Davis Our Conquests in the Pacific 151: The soldier’s house-building gets a welcome break at noon with ‘chow’.
1907		Army and Navy Life Nov. 559: We went to chow and met some more officers [HDAS].
1928		T.A. Dorgan in Zwilling TAD Lex. (1993) 58: Panning the mugg who ‘muscles in’ on the boss each day as he goes to chow.
1932		W.R. Burnett Giant Swing 261: ‘We ain’t finished with chow yet. How about eating with us?’.
1949		N. Algren Man with the Golden Arm 16: He waited till the corporal went to chow.
1958		Mad mag. Sept.–Oct. 4: It’s like chow time, kids!
1965		L. Bruce How to Talk Dirty 17: Artie Shaw and [...] sailors sat in the fetal position with their red eyes and chapped thighs, waiting for chow to blow.
1975		E. Torres Carlito’s Way 46: At chowtime Colorado is rappin’ to the boys about how bad I am.
1977		E. Bunker Animal Factory 40: You and your mob be over here after chow.
1986		M. Petit Peacekeepers 100: It was close to chow time, so we headed to the BLT for dinner.
1987		T. Wolfe Bonfire of the Vanities 471: Okay, chow time.
1990		S. Morgan Homeboy 104: Rack me up, I don’t want to miss chow.
1994		N. McCall Makes Me Wanna Holler (1995) 189: At chow time that evening, my homie Pearly Blue came to the table.
1999		E. Bunker Mr Blue 49: ‘Chow time!’ bellowed a voice at the front.
1999		Guardian G2 17 Nov. 12: Then they pulled the bar to go out for chow.
2006		www.calvertcountyhumanesociety.org 🌐 It’s ‘CHOW TIME !!’ and the new HSCC cookbook will be here before the holiday.
2016		Mother Jones July/Aug. 🌐 On any given day, they can take this facility [...] At chow time, there are 800 inmates and just two COs.

3. (US) by metonymy, one whose duty it is to wait at table etc.

1917

W.Y. Stevenson At the Front in a Flivver 9 Apr. 🌐 ‘Chow’ means the man who sets the table and waits for the day. Each takes it by turns, but as we eat everything out of the same plate with the same fork and knife, there is no great strain upon the ‘Admirable Crichton’ on duty.

4. (Aus.) cabbage [? Fr. choux, cabbage].

1953

Baker Aus. Speaks.

5. snuff.

1942

N. Algren Never Come Morning (1988) 5: ‘How’s about a good ol’ chow, Barber?’ The barber handed him the can reluctantly. He approved of snuff for old-country Poles like himself, but felt that young men born and raised in America should stick to cigarettes.

6. a meal.

1951		M. Spillane One Lonely Night 23: I passed the word for him to meet me in the lobby if he wanted a free chow.
1965		L. Bruce How to Talk Dirty 19: Twelve o’clock, chow: braised beef, dehydrated potatoes, spinach, coffee, cake with icing.
1983		Frontline (S.Afr.) Oct. 61: The skate has his own dialect [...] ‘I got a graft, a cabbie, I got stukkies, booze, and I got zol. I tune you, mate, if I can get one mamba chow a day, I scheme life is kif.’.