on the fly

Beginner 🍳 Food / Culinary

Definition

Kitchen code for 'we need this dish immediately because someone screwed up, a server forgot to ring it in, or a VIP just walked through the door.' Basically, emergency cooking mode.

Example Usage

I need two burgers on the fly—table nine's been waiting 45 minutes and they're getting hostile.

Origin

From the phrase meaning to do something urgently while in motion

Fun Fact

Cooks hate hearing 'on the fly' because it usually means jumping the queue and disrupting their carefully timed sequence.

Source: Restaurant kitchen communication terminology

Related Terms

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See “on the fly” in Corporate Speak, Gen-Z Slang, Pirate Speak, and more.

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