chowline

plural chowlines · alternative chow line

1. A line of people waiting for food.

   ...men who had grown up in a world of dogtags, chowlines and mass organization.

   1974, Victor C Ferkiss, The future of technological civilization

   2 more examples

   At lunchtime, the train stopped again, and an army style chowline was set up...

   1982, John Weitz, Friends in high places

   Yet apparently millions of us just love being nudged or browbeaten into particular chowlines by someone else with an air of authority, from weight-loss guru to restaurant reviewer.

   2007 January 10, Anne Mendelson, “At the Temples of Food, an Outsider’s Look at the Sacred Texts”, in New York Times