Foodie Dates: Understanding the Trend of Dating for Dining

We're never short on slang when it comes to the dating world. After all, how else are we supposed to explain the ridiculous things we do in search of love (or whatever)? Cuffing, ghosting, Netflix and chill, get ready for your newest on-the-nose turn of phrase: the foodie call.

That's what a group of psychologists are calling it in new research just published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science. Rather than texting your special friend to come over for some hanky-panky, the foodie call means setting up a date just to get a free meal out of it. Between one-quarter and one-third of women who answered the researchers' survey fessed up to doing just that.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, those who thought foodie calls were perfectly acceptable were also more likely to express support for "traditional" gender roles, in which splitting the check might be unthinkable. However, these women were also more likely to exhibit traits from the so-called Dark Triad of personality profiles: psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and narcissism.

It is true that the Dark Triad can impede both interpersonal and professional success — hedge fund managers, for instance, tend to make their clients less money with those characteristics. But if you've put in a foodie call and you're suddenly worrying about how likeable you are, don't fret too much. Dating is definitely a nightmare, and it's not weird to feel cynical about it. Just make sure you're going into a date in good faith with clear communication. After all, you never know what more could actually come out of it.