MovieChat Forums > General Discussion > I just learned a new word... dumbwaiter

I just learned a new word... dumbwaiter

posted 3 years ago by [deleted]
20 replies | jump to latest

And it's got nothing to do with dumb waiters. It's the name of the food elevators you might see in rich people's kitchens or restaurants.

[–] samoanjoes (50956) 3 years ago

Always wanted one in my house.

[–] jonathan_k80 (6436) 3 years ago

It goes back to the days when "dumb" also meant "silent." https://www.etymonline.com/word/dumb-waiter

[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

Oh of course, like "deaf and dumb".

[–] keybored (2654) 3 years ago

https://youtu.be/x2r4KhZmw9c

[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

this is something you hear in a 1950s movie

[–] nyctc7 (41238) 3 years ago

From an episode of Upstairs, Downstairs - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDxDoZFV2H4&t=20m45s

From Life With Father (1947) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlU3FFmqDsM&t=3m0s

[–] FredBurroughs (19702) 3 years ago

I guess it's fallen out of fashion with the changing times, but I grew up in a house with a dumbwaiter and never considered the possibility that it would be an unfamiliar word to some.

[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

I've never worked in a kitchen.

Looking online, the term is still used in Australia, but they might also be called a "service lift", "food elevator" or "food lift."

[–] nyctc7 (41238) 3 years ago

In my Upstairs, Downstairs clip above, Mrs. Bridges calls it a lift.

[–] Capnbucky (2218) 3 years ago

My great aunt had one. I loved using it. Till I broke it

[–] FredBurroughs (19702) 3 years ago

Yeah, as kids my sister and I used to take turns climbing into it while the other raised it up to the next floor. Super dangerous in retrospect.

[–] Capnbucky (2218) 3 years ago

That’s not what it’s for ?

[–] Capnbucky (2218) 3 years ago

I saw that on a tv show once !

[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

[deleted]

[–] actionkamen (23176) 3 years ago

What a dumbracoon and dumbstaircase.