picnic

Etymology

Borrowed from French pique-nique.

noun

1. An informal social gathering, usually in a natural outdoor setting, to which the participants bring their own food and drink.
   We went out for a picnic in the forest.
2. The meal eaten at such a gathering.
3. (figurative) An easy or pleasant task.
   We remind the guests that dealing with this problem is no picnic, and to be patient.
4. (obsolete) An entertainment at which each person contributed some dish to a common table.
5. A cut of pork from the shoulder area (above the front leg) of a pig.
   Smoked picnics of medium weights - from 6 to 8 pounds - are selling at wholesale at present for about half the price of fancy hams. Standard bacon of medium weights is another smoked product that is selling […] 1923, The National Provisioner, page 50
   Smoked picnics (calas) are pork shoulders with the butt portion removed just beyond the knuckle bone. Shoulder butts are boneless […] 1940, War Department Technical Manual, page 53
   Smoked picnics are sold whole and usually fully cooked. When sold boneless they are called pork shoulder roll. COOKING HAMS AND PICNICS Roasting : Roast a fully cooked ham or picnic according to […] 2001, Good Housekeeping, The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook, Hearst Books, page 218

verb

1. To take part in a picnic.
   And I'll never forget the chillingly instinctive racism. "Sure is pretty countryside. Pity it's spoiled by the niggers picknickin." 2000, Bill Oddie, Gripping Yarns, page 71