What is "picnic"

Picnic \Pic"nic\, n. [Cf. F. piquenique. See Pick, v., and cf. Knickknack.] Formerly, an entertainment at which each person contributed some dish to a common table; now, an excursion or pleasure party in which the members partake of a collation or repast (usually in the open air, and from food carried by themselves).

Picnic \Pic"nic\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Picnicked; p. pr. & vb. n. Picnicking.] To go on a picnic, or pleasure excursion; to eat in public fashion.

1748 (in Chesterfield's "Letters"), but rare before c.1800 as an English institution; originally a fashionable pot-luck social affair, not necessarily out of doors; from French piquenique (1690s), perhaps a reduplication of piquer "to pick, peck," from Old French (see pike (n.2)), or the second element may be nique "worthless thing," from a Germanic source. Figurative sense of "something easy" is from 1886. Picnic table recorded from 1926, originally a folding table.

"go on a picnic," 1842, from picnic (n.). Related: Picnicked; picnicking. The -k- is inserted to preserve the "k" sound of -c- before a suffix beginning in -i-, -y-, or -e- (compare traffic/trafficking, panic/panicky, shellac/shellacked).

1. n. a day devoted to an outdoor social gathering [syn: field day, outing]

2. any undertaking that is easy to do; "marketing this product will be no picnic" [syn: cinch, breeze, snap, duck soup, child's play, pushover, walkover, piece of cake]

3. any informal meal eaten outside or on an excursion

4. [also: picnicking, picnicked]

1. v. eat alfresco, in the open air; "We picnicked near the lake on this gorgeous Sunday"

2. [also: picnicking, picnicked]

Picnic is a 1955 American Technicolor romantic comedy-drama film in Cinemascope, which was adapted for the screen by Daniel Taradash from William Inge's 1953 Pulitzer Prize-winning play. Joshua Logan, director of the original Broadway stage production, also directed the film version, which stars William Holden and Kim Novak, with Rosalind Russell, Susan Strasberg and Cliff Robertson in supporting roles. Picnic was nominated for six Academy Awards and won two.

The film dramatizes 24 hours in the life of a small Kansas town in the mid-20th-century United States. It revolves around the Labor Day holiday, the traditional end of summer vacations in America, after which people must return to school or work and face up to the challenges in their lives. It is the story of the proverbial outsider who blows into town and subsequently manages to overturn complacency, shake convention, disrupt and rearrange lives and reset the fates of all those with whom he comes into contact.

right|thumb|upright=1.5|The artist Thomas Cole depicted "The Picnic" prior to 1860.

thumb|right|upright=1.5|A picnic assembles in Columbus, Ohio, c. 1950.

A picnic is an excursion at which a meal is eaten outdoors ( al fresco or en plein air), ideally taking place in a scenic landscape such as a park, beside a lake or with an interesting view and possibly at a public event such as before an open-air theatre performance, and usually in summer. Descriptions of picnics show that the idea of a meal that was jointly contributed and was enjoyed out-of-doors was essential to a picnic from the early 19th century.

Picnics are often family-oriented but can also be an intimate occasion between two people or a large get-together such as company picnics and church picnics. It is also sometimes combined with a cookout, usually a form of barbecue; either grilling ( griddling, gridironing, or charbroiling), braising (by combining a charbroil or gridiron grill with a broth-filled pot), baking, or a combination of all of the above.

On romantic and family picnics, a picnic basket and a blanket (to sit or recline on) are usually brought along. Outdoor games or some other form of entertainment are common at large picnics. In established public parks, a picnic area generally includes picnic tables and possibly other items related to eating outdoors, such as built-in grills, water faucets, garbage containers, and restrooms.

Some picnics are a potluck, an entertainment at which each person contributed some dish to a common table for all to share. When the picnic is not also a cookout, the food eaten is rarely hot, instead taking the form of deli sandwiches, finger food, fresh fruit, salad, cold meats and accompanied by chilled wine or champagne or soft drinks.

Picnic is an album by Texas-based folk singer-songwriter Robert Earl Keen, released in the United States in 1997 on Arista Records.

Picnic is a television talk show from the Mexican TV network Telehit, hosted by Barbara Islas and Alexia Imaz. This show features fashion tips, music, lifestyle and advise for teenagers and girls of all ages.

is a Japanese manga anthology written and illustrated by Yugi Yamada. It is licensed in North America by Digital Manga Publishing, which released the manga through its June imprint, on 27 June 2007.

Picnic is a 1975 Indian Malayalam film, directed by J. Sasikumar and produced by CC Baby and VM Chandi. The film stars Prem Nazir, Lakshmi, Unnimary and Adoor Bhasi in lead roles. The film had musical score by M. K. Arjunan.

A picnic is a meal eaten outside.

Picnic may also refer to:

In entertainment:

• Picnic (play), a 1953 play by William Inge
  • Picnic (1955 film), a film adaptation starring William Holden
  • "Theme from Picnic" or simply "Picnic", a song from the 1955 film
  • Picnic (2000 film), an American TV film adaptation starring Bonnie Bedelia
• Picnic (1996 film), a Japanese film directed by Shunji Iwai
• Picnic (1975 film), a Malayalam film starring Prem Nazir and Laksmi
• Picnic (1972 film), a Bengali film starring Ranjit Mallick with music by Sudhin Dasgupta
• Picnic (1955 film), a Joshua Logan film starring William Holden and Kim Novak
• Picnic (album), an album by Robert Earl Keen
• Picnic – A Breath of Fresh Air, a sampler album issued by Harvest Records
• Picnic (manga), a yaoi manga by Yugi Yamada
• Picnic (TV show), a Mexican talk show
• Sky Picnic, a proposed pay-TV service from BSkyB
• Picnic, a 2004 short film starring Yolandi Visser under her birth name Anri du Toit

In other uses:

• Picnic Island, Tasmania
• Cadbury Picnic, a chocolate bar
• Toyota Picnic or Ipsum, a minivan
• Picnik, a former online photo editor
• Shoulder picnic, a cut of pork
• The Picnic, a holiday custom in Poland
• PICNIC (Problem In Chair, Not In Computer), a derogatory slang term for computer user error

Picnic is a brand of chocolate bar consisting of milk chocolate and peanuts, covering chewy nougat, caramel, biscuit and puffed rice. Picnic bars are lumpy in shape. It is sold in Australia, parts of Canada (such as Quebec), New Zealand, New York City, India, Ireland, Russia, Ukraine, South Africa (packaged as "Lunch Bar") and the United Kingdom. The UK and Indian versions differ from the Australasian version in that they also contain raisins. The Cadbury Picnic bar was first released in the UK in 1958.

A popular slogan for the Picnic, released in the early 2000s, was "Deliciously ugly". During the 1970s the Australian slogan for Picnic was "More like a banquet than a picnic". Picnic is manufactured by Cadbury UK.

In Australia, limited-edition variants Picnic Honeycomb (a Picnic bar with honeycomb pieces), Picnic Hedgehog (a picnic bar with biscuit pieces) and Picnic Rocky Road (a Picnic bar with mini marshmallows and gumdrops) have been sold in recent years. In 2010, a limited edition Almond Picnic bar was made available in New Zealand and is now also available in Australia under the name Roast Almond Feast. A Picnic ice cream is also manufactured by Cadbury UK.

In April 2009 Cadbury altered the weight of the standard Picnic bar from 50 grams down to 48.4 grams. Again in August 2014 Cadbury altered the weight of the standard Picnic bar down to 46g in Australia, with a noticeable reduction in the width of the bar, yet still in the old size wrapper.

In the UK the bar is also available in multipacks.

In 2011, a fruit and nut picnic bar was released in Australia.

Picnic is a 1953 play by William Inge. The play was premiered at the Music Box Theatre, Broadway, on 19 February 1953 in a Theatre Guild production, directed by Joshua Logan, which ran for 477 performances.

The original cast featured Ralph Meeker, Eileen Heckart, Arthur O'Connell, Janice Rule, Reta Shaw, Kim Stanley and Paul Newman. Inge won the 1953 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the work, and Logan received a Tony Award for Best Director. The play also won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play of the season.

Picnic was Paul Newman's Broadway debut. An unknown at the time, Newman campaigned heavily for the leading role of Hal, but director Joshua Logan did not think Newman was physically large enough to convey the lead character's athletic attributes. As a result, Ralph Meeker was given the role of Hal opposite Janice Rule as Madge. Newman played Hal's former college roommate Alan Seymour while understudying the role of Hal. Newman eventually took over the lead role.

Picnic is a 1996 Japanese film directed by Shunji Iwai. The film was shot in 1994, but not released until 1996.

Coco, Tsumuji and Satoru, three mental asylum patients, want to see the world, but are not allowed outside walls of the asylum. Therefore, they start to explore the world by walking on the wall, and soon become more engaged with the outside world. They believe that as long as they don't go beyond the wall, they are not violating rules of the institution. When Coco and Tsumuji walk near a church, they meet a priest who gives them a Bible, hoping to convert them to Christianity. Misinterpretating a portion of the text, they think that the end of the world is near. Excited by the impending apocalypse, they head out on another trip into the outside world, seeking a place to have a picnic and watch the final event.