Chinese menu

English

Etymology

From the practice of some Chinese restaurants which, for a fixed price, instruct the customer to make selections such as “one from Column A, two from Column B, one from Column C”, where the columns may contain, for example, a selection of soups, appetizers, and entrees.

Noun

Chinese menu (plural Chinese menus)

1. A set of choices from which the user or customer makes multiple selections, specifically one or more choices from each of two or more distinct categories.

   Each camper picked from a Chinese menu of available activities: one from the various field sports; one from the pool activities list; and two from a wide selection of arts and crafts classes.

   • 1994, Philip G. Altbach, Robert Oliver Berdahl, Patricia J. Gumport, Higher education in American society:

     Throughout American higher education, Western Civilization courses tempered electives and various Chinese menus of distribution requirements.

   • 1997, Samuel M. Natale, Mark B. Fenton, Business Education and Training, page 92:

     Many people who consider themselves to be liberally educated have undertaken study in half a dozen fields from a Chinese menu of subjects.

   • 2011, Kenneth O'Reilly, Holy Cow 2000: The Strange Election of George W. Bush:

     Cheney's man, I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby, reportedly tried to force a “Chinese menu” of even wilder assertions into the first draft of the UN speech.

2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see Chinese,‎ menu.

See also

• a little from column A, a little from column B