'You better believe I wore the "baby sharp" hat everyday': Clever line cook gets snubbed by a humorless manager, makes their own fun by wearing the joke on their uniform

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Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Mar 1, 2024 7:00 AM EST

It's important to keep some semblance of 'fun' in the workplace because that's the only thing that's getting you (and your coworkers) through your workday. But like every group project in middle school, there's always going to be a Debbie Downer in your group, determined to squash any good-natured fun that falls outside of the rulebook. 

I'm convinced that those humorless folks grew up with one job title on their mind: Manager. 

While it's not true across the board, most managers can be a real bummer in the workplace, just like the unfunny manager in our next story which takes place in a jaunty kitchen. Poised to pass the workday with flawless fun, one clever line cook started poking fun at their callouts for a knife on the floor. As many people know, the kitchen can be a dangerous place–with knives flying all around and burning hot surfaces–but this line cook wasn't put out by the dangers. In fact, they quirkified the standard kitchen warnings and made them their own fun version.

Scroll onward to see how their humorless manager reacted when they found out the cooks were calling the knives, "sharps", and how this snarky line cook kept the comedy alive in the kitchen afterward.

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  • 01
    "sharp" "baby sharp" ✓
    via canva
  • 02
    Posted by u/quiglii 12 hours ago We're not allowed to say it? Okay... SOC A Years ago I worked in the prep kitchen for a small chain of restaurants. For background, when you pick up a knife in a restaurant kitchen, you're supposed to say "sharp" pretty loudly, so that other
    via quiglii
  • 03
    people rushing around know someone is walking around with a knife. Anyways, we had 2 kinds of knives: large chef's knives, and paring knives. There were only a few paring knives - not enough for everyone to have one at their
    via quiglii
  • 04
    station. At some point, one of my coworkers started referring to the knives as "sharps" and so I started calling the paring knives "baby sharps" and it caught on. This led to people asking across the room "who's got a baby sharp?"
    via quiglii
  • 05
    Now, my boss was a massive 1. She, for some unknown reason, didn't like us calling the paring knives "baby sharps" and said so on a few occasions, but nobody cared. To be clear, nobody ever said/sang "baby sharp do do do do do do" or anything like that. Well, one day, she was in a particularly bad mood and yelled at us "nobody is allowed to say 'baby sharp' anymore!!!!"
    via quiglii
  • 06
    Cue MC. That afternoon, I went home and photoshopped a little cartoon face, bonnet, pacifier and diaper onto an image of a paring knife. I took the image to a custom print shop and had them print it on to a baseball cap. We were required to wear hats at work to keep stray hairs from falling into the food. I
    via quiglii
  • 07
    only worked there a couple months after this, because I found a better job, but you better believe I wore that "baby sharp" hat to work the next day, and then every day for the remainder of my time there. The boss never said anything to me about it, but I know it her off.
    via quiglii
  • 08
    CoderJoe1 11 hr. ago Junior sharp Kid Sharp Adolescent sharp Youth sharp Sharpette Sharpier Sharpenator Little sharp
    via CoderJoe1
  • 09
    GRR Turbojelly 7 hr. ago "The knife formally known as Baby Sharp" ↑ Vote Reply Share KombatBunn1 10 hr. ago Wee sharp! :D
    via GRR Turbojelly
  • 10
    Wrong Hospital_6167 12 hr. ago As a nurse I appreciate this so much. "Sharps" are anything sharp. I have a drawer in the kitchen with sharps. Knives, kitchen scissors etc. I do call it the sharp drawer.
    via Wrong_Hospital_6167
  • 11
    Dripping_Snarkasm. 11 hr. ago I love this. Imma steal it. :) ↑ Vote Reply Share amethystjade15. 10 hr. ago Don't steal from them, they'll grab something from the sharp drawer to defend it!
    via Dripping_Snarkasm
  • 12
    SirWigglesTheLesser · 11 hr. ago Working in a deli got me in the habit of saying "behind you" in addition to "sharp" or "corner." These days I usually just end up confusing coworkers and strangers at the grocery store every time I walk behind them close enough to trigger my deli brain and go "behind you!"
    via SirWigglesTheLesser
  • 13
    It works well in a confined job space... Not so much a spacious production floor. Reply Share Vote quiglii OP 11 hr. ago Oh man I still do "behind you" and "hot" to this day
    via SirWigglesTheLesser
  • 14
    ladyrose403 13 hr. ago You guys had way more restraint than me. Just because I could, i'd be singing baby sharp constantly. I wouldn't be able to stop myself.
    via ladyrose403
  • 15
    WileEPyote 11 hr. ago. edited 6 hr. ago I am never referring to a paring knife in a restaurant as anything else ever again.
    via WileEPyote
  • 16
    7cc7 13 hr. ago Baby sharp do do do do do do ↑ Vote Reply Share Varnigma 13 hr. ago Glad I'm not the only one that was thinking that.
    via 7cc7
  • 17
    ParkingOutside6500 - 13 hr. ago Did you hum instead? Or calll out "hat?"? Vote Reply Share quiglii OP 12 hr. ago Nah lol. I didn't want to be confrontational. I'm more the passive-aggressive type haha
    via ParkingOutside6500
  • 18
    Traditional_Air_9483 4 hr. ago The baby sharp hat logo would also be a great tattoo. A forearm tattoo would make it more visible.
    via Traditional_Air_9483
  • 19
    ZealousidealMail3132 Baby sharp Do do do-do
    via ZealousidealMail3132
  • 20
    Apprehensive_Pie_140 3 hr. ago Baby sharp, do do do doo do, baby sharp....
    via Apprehensive_Pie_140

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boss worker knives employee manager cooking job funny story sharps work coworkers working bad mananger ceo restaurant employees funny work story line cook managers supervisor kitchen workplace company coworker business
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