History Main / SneakingSnacks

* In the ''WesternAnimation/CaptainFlamingo'' episode "[[Recap/CaptainFlamingoS1E24UnderThereUnderwearExhibitYikes Exhibit Yikes!]]", Milo sneaks to the pantry for a box of ice cream sandwiches. Although he was tempting to not eat it as he has to eat supper first, he decided to eat it anyways without getting caught, which he then regrets as he could get in trouble. He then finds a brochure in the fridge for a military school for problemed children which he fears that he might go there if he gets in big trouble. At the end of the episode, Milo's mom reads a letter from the museum thanking Milo for stopping the thief from stealing the jewel so as a result, she rewards him with some ice cream sandwiches. Unfortunately, Milo ate some of the box earlier in the episode since she noticed that there are some missing, which causes him to get in trouble.

* ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'': The episode "Muffin King" revolves around Dad trying to get his hands on Mom's newly baked muffins, a treat he is completely obsessed with, and he ends up coming up with a ridiculous BatmanGambit to get his hands on one after Mom recruits Dee-Dee and Dexter to keep him away from them.

So let's say you're a kid (or even an adult), and you really like [[BilingualBonus Cupio]] Bars. You'd eat them for every meal if you could -- but your parent(s)[=/=]guardian(s)[=/=][[ParentingTheHusband spouse]] won't let you. They insist that you have a varied diet with a base of four food groups (and not one of them is the kind you'd like to be considered part of the base). You are allowed some Cupio Bars for a treat, but your consumption of them is limited. And even worse, [[TemptingCookieJar they're keeping a whole supply of Cupio Bars around]] and you are not allowed to have any without their permission. So what do you do to sate your craving without getting in trouble? You wait until they're asleep or busy, or otherwise presumably unable to catch you in the act of sneaking snacks! The particular snack being snuck can be anything, as long as it is made clear that the Sneaker really wants it, so much that they're willing to risk getting in trouble in order to attain it illicitly.

Contrast DiscreetDiningDisposal, when someone is eagerly ''given'' a food item and it's one of the ''last'' things they'd eat and see also SecretSnackStash for cases in which a character keeps their own supply of tempting foods.

Contrast DiscreetDiningDisposal, when someone is eagerly ''given'' a food item and it's one of the ''last'' things they'd eat.

[[folder: Board Games ]]
* In the classic version of Chutes and Ladders by Milton Bradley (it's now made Hasbro) the top of one of the chutes has a kid attempting to retrieve cookies from a high-up shelf. (An older version of the game has a girl sitting on a boy's shoulders to get to the cookies) At the bottom of that slide, however, they appear to have broken the cookie jar. This is actually the longest chute in the game -- #87 to #24. Mention of that particular chute is made in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Jo5_r_ahWI commercial for the game.]]

[[folder: Comic Strips ]]

--> '''Mom''': Calvin, just how dumb do you think I am?

[[folder: Films -- Live-Action ]]
* In [[Film/HarryPotter the film version]] of ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets'', the Weasley brothers notice a bowl full of baked goods on the table when they arrive home with Harry. Assuming their mother is asleep, they whisper to each other, "Let's sneak some" and do just that. However, their mother is indeed awake and she pops up out of nowhere and angrily asks them where they've been. Realizing that she's seen them holding the contraband snacks, the Weasley siblings guiltily put them away. However, she doesn't say anything about the snacks. Justified, however, because she was worried about their safety and the possibility that they would get in trouble with the Ministry of Magic, compared to which sneaking snacks is small potatoes by any standard.

* Subject of a joke in ''Film/DieHard'', when one of the "terrorists" sets up his police-ambush station behind a shop counter, and snitches a candy bar.. after looking around to make sure no one's watching.
* In ''Film/MissCongeniality'', Gracie Hart is found by her beauty pageant trainer sneaking donuts underneath her dress.

---> '''Dorothy''': Toto, that's not polite! We haven't been asked yet.

---> '''Tree''': How would you like it if I was to come along, and pick something off of you?

[[folder: Literature ]]

* There are references to this in ''[[Literature/LordPeterWimsey Gaudy Night]]''.
** Harriet is visiting her Oxford college and reminds a staff member that she recalls the woman's habit of leaving the buttery door unlocked at night. The woman indulgently smiles and notes that young women have healthy appetites.
** Later, the topic is mentioned again as a reason to initially dismiss the sounds of someone moving through the college after dark, thereby allowing some cover for the author of the poison pen letters and vandalism.

* In ''Literature/DiaryOfAWimpyKidTheLastStraw'', the lunch snacks start disappearing and Greg starts thinking that his older brother Rodrick is doing it. He hides in a laundry hamper to find out who's doing it and discovers that his dad is the culprit. It turns out that he's doing this because his New Year's resolution turns out to be more than he bargained for.
* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire'', Harry Potter's overweight cousin Dudley is put on a diet and at one point, he gets in trouble for attempting to sneak sweets into the house.
** Aunt Petunia insists that the entire family follow the diet so Dudley won't feel singled out, which Harry gets around by having his friends send him sweets and snacks and hiding them in his room.
* The punishment that the Trunchbull deals to Bruce Bogtrotter for supposedly stealing a slice of her chocolate cake in ''Literature/{{Matilda}}'' is used to [[ShowDontTell show]] just how sadistic she is to great effect. She schedules an assembly during which she sits Bruce down at a table and puts the rest of the cake in front of him for him to eat. Poor Bruce is expected to eat that 18-inches-in-diameter monstrosity in its entirety, even if he gets sick. And every child attending Crunchem Hall is watching him eat and feeling sorry for him as they wait with bated breath for him to break down from the effects of forced over-eating.
* In ''Literature/TheGreatBrain at the Academy'' the priests who run the Catholic BoardingSchool Tom and his brother attend forbid all candy. Tom thinks this is silly, so he sneaks out after lights-out weekly to buy candy bars from a local drugstore to sell to the other boys at the school for double price. Towards the end of the book he and the head priest have a conversation during which the priest explains why they have the ban.

* In ''Literature/{{Mort}}'', the wizard Cutangle acts guilty when he's found raiding the castle pantry in the middle of the night, even though there's no indication he's not allowed to, and all he found was half a jar of mayo, some very old cheese, and a mouldy tomato. (If he'd gone during the day, it would have been filled with vast amounts of meat and fish, but the TheoryOfNarrativeCausality says that when you raid a pantry in the middle of the night, that's what you find.)
* In ''Literature/TheAdventuresOfTomSawyer'', Tom tries to steal sugar from under his aunt's very nose, and has his knuckles rapped for it.

[[folder: Live-Action Television ]]
* On one of the early ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' shorts on ''Series/TheTraceyUllmanShow'', Bart steals the cookies Marge made, calling it "the perfect crime". They find him later on the floor with a tummy ache, moaning "[[ThePunishmentIsTheCrime There is no perfect crime]]."

---> '''Mrs White''': You wash your hands before you handle those! You've been putting more of that stuff about, you ought to know better, sir.

---> '''Mrs White''': How dare you!! You set one foot in my kitchen again, and you'll get a taste of this! (Points a sharp knife at him)

* In ''Series/TheOddCouple1970'' episode "The Fat Farm", Felix talks Oscar into joining him at a weight-loss retreat he attends every year. Outside food is not allowed, but Oscar manages to sneak in a number of items from a deli nearby. Unfortunately for him, [[TheNoseKnows Felix can identify every one by smell...as well as the can opener Oscar brought.]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]
* In ''VideoGame/FortuneSummoners'' TheRival, Colm, sneaks snacks on a school trip (since they were only allowed to bring a certain amount with them) by hiding them in his water bottle.

* Kris of ''{{VideoGame/Deltarune}}'' is noted to do this, with their mother resorting to locking up her chocolate to keep it from them.

[[folder: Visual Novels ]]

[[folder: Webcomics ]]

[[folder: Web Original ]]
* wikiHow provides this guide on [[http://www.wikihow.com/Sneak-Candy-Into-Your-Room How to Sneak Candy Into Your Room]], directed toward teenagers.

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* On ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'', Shifu is surprised to see the uncoordinated Po perform athletic feats in raiding the pantry. To test him, Shifu points out Monkey's secret cookie stash on the topmost shelf. Within seconds, Po was balancing himself on the shelf, gorging himself.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': Homer does this sometimes, like the time he spent all night eating 64 slices of American cheese. Or in the WesternAnimation/TreehouseOfHorror episode where he [[DealWithTheDevil sold his soul]] for a donut - but the contract doesn't take effect until he eats the whole donut so he keeps the last bit in the fridge with a note: "Daddy's soul donut - do not eat." Then late at night he eats it. "Mmmmm, forbidden donut."
** In one episode, Comic Book Guy, a character whose gluttony sometimes overshadows even Homers, tries to sneak food into a movie theater. The ushers frisk him, and find he's got damn near half a fridge hidden in his clothes. He just disdainfully tells them they'll never find it all no matter how much they search him, and that he's "baking cupcakes as we speak".
* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' involves Stan sneaking the cookie dough that Francine specifically told him not to eat. HilarityEnsues when [[ItMakesSenseInContext Francine berates him for committing]] ParentalIncest [[ItMakesSenseInContext with Hayley]] and Stan thinks she caught him stealing the cookie dough.
--> '''Stan''': Okay yes, you caught me, but can you blame me? It's just so sweet and tasty!
* A [[WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius Jimmy Neutron]] short involved Jimmy Neutron trying to sneak a cookie from the cookie jar and being caught by his mother, who scolds him at first, but relents and says he can have just one little cookie. The short revolves around his usage of an invention that enables him to attain multiple cookies.

* ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'': The episode "Muffin King" revolves around Dad trying to get his hands on Mom's newly baked muffins, a treat he is completely obsessed with, and he ends up coming up with a ridiculous BatmanGambit to get his hands on one after Mom recruits Dee-Dee and Dexter to keep him away from them.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheDragonPrince'': Ezran often sneaks jelly tarts from the kitchen, even using the castle's secret passageways for this purpose.

[[folder: Other ]]

-->'''Group''': Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar?\\

'''Accuser''': (name of a child in the circle) stole the cookie from the cookie jar.\\
'''Accused''': Who, me?\\
'''Group''': Yes, you!\\
'''Accused''': Not me!/Couldn't be!/Wasn't me!\\
'''Group''': Then who?\\
'''Prev. Accused (now Accuser)''': (name of a child in the circle) stole the cookie from the cookie jar.

[[folder: Advertising ]]
* One in a series of Hostess commercials: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTX0mAcbOeo
* And this Dolly Madison "Zinger Zapper" commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRR28ShWvmw

[[folder: Anime & Manga ]]
* Tubby did this in Episode 4 of the ''Anime/{{Little Lulu}}'' anime, with apples, bananas, sausages, crackers, and potato chips, which he then hides in different areas of the woods.
[[/folder]]

Sometimes, the kid manages to get away with it. However, more often than not, the child is caught by their parent[=/=]guardian and punished. In this case, AnAesop about the immorality of stealing and violating parental trust usually follows. If it is an AdultChild, it is even more likely that (s)he will be caught because no matter how much comedic potential a scenario involving an ''actual'' kid doing this has, it can't be nearly as funny as an ''adult'' behaving like a naughty child and being caught in the act by an angry authority/parental figure. For added comedy points, the Sneaker may be punished or reprimanded in the same way an actual child would be. For adult cases, contrast TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior, where a child is trying out disturbing things associated with older ages.

[[folder: Film ]]

* In [[Film/HarryPotter the film version]] of ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets'', the Weasley brothers notice a bowl full of baked goods on the table when they arrive home with Harry. Assuming their mother is asleep, they whisper to each other, "Let's sneak some" and do just that. However, their mother is indeed awake and she pops up out of nowhere and angrily asks them where they've been. Realizing that she's seen them holding the contraband snacks, the Weasley siblings guiltily put them away. However, she doesn't say anything about the snacks. Justified, however, because she was worried about their safety and the possibility that they would get in trouble with the Ministry of Magic, compared to which SneakingSnacks is small potatoes by any standard.

** In one episode, Comic Book Guy, a character who's gluttony sometimes overshadows even Homers, tries to sneak food into a movie theater. The ushers frisk him, and find he's got damn near half a fridge hidden in his clothes. He just disdainfully tells them they'll never find it all no matter how much they search him, and that he's "baking cupcakes as we speak".

* In ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'': When Dorothy and Toto visit Professor Marvel, Toto eats a sausage from the professor's toasting fork.
--> '''Dorothy''': Toto, that's not polite! We haven't been asked yet.

So let's say you're a kid, and you really like [[BilingualBonus Cupio]] Bars to the point where you'd eat them for every meal if you would, but your parent(s) or guardian(s) won't let you. They insist that you have a varied diet with a base of four food groups (and not one of them is the kind you'd like to be considered part of the base). Luckily, though, you are allowed some Cupio Bars for a treat, but your consumption of them is limited. And even worse, they're keeping a whole supply of Cupio Bars around and you are not allowed to have any without their permission. So what do you do to sate your craving without getting in trouble? You wait until they're asleep or busy, or otherwise presumably unable to catch you in the act of sneaking snacks! The particular snack that the child is sneaking can be anything, as long as it is made clear that they really want it so much that they're willing to risk getting in trouble in order to attain it illicitly.

Sometimes, the kid manages to get away with it, but it is more often that the child is caught by their parent or guardian and subjected to punishment. In the case of the latter scenario, it is usually used to teach AnAesop about the immorality of stealing and violating parental trust. Sometimes the character who is Sneaking Snacks is an AdultChild who is trying to do his without his or her parent or even their [[ParentingTheHusband spouse]] knowing. If it is an AdultChild, it is even more likely that (s)he will be caught because no matter how much comedic potential a scenario involving an ''actual'' kid doing this has, it cannot be nearly as funny as an ''adult'' behaving like a naughty child and being caught in the act by an angry authority/parental figure. Bonus points if the Sneaker is punished or reprimanded in a similar way that an actual child would be for added comic effect. In cases where an adult is doing this, contrast TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior, where a child is trying out disturbing things associated with older ages.

Compare TemptingCookieJar. Contrast DiscreetDiningDisposal, when someone is eagerly ''given'' a food item and it's one of the ''last'' things they'd eat.

Trust us, we all know how prevalent this is. Anyone who claims that they never did this is most likely either lying or else their family didn't have any desirable foods in the house. Therefore, we ask that you don't post any RealLife examples unless they're especially interesting and aren't repetitions of examples already posted in the media namespaces.

* On one of the early ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' shorts on ''Series/TheTraceyUllmanShow'', Bart steals the cookies Marge made, calling it "the perfect crime". They find him later on the floor with a tummy ache, moaning "There is no perfect crime."

* In ''Theatre/TheOddCouple'' episode "The Fat Farm", Felix talks Oscar into joining him at a weight-loss retreat he attends every year. Outside food is not allowed, but Oscar manages to sneak in a number of items from a deli nearby. Unfortunately for him, [[TheNoseKnows Felix can identify every one by smell...as well as the can opener Oscar brought.]]

* Tubby did this in Episode 4 of the ''Anime/{{Little Lulu}}'' anime, with apples, bananas, sausages, crackers, and potato chips, which he hides in different ares of the woods.

* Tubby did this in Episode 4 of the ''Anime/{{Little Lulu}}'' anime, with apples, bananas, sausages, crackers, and potato chips, which hen hides in different ares of the woods.

* A RunningGag in ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'' involves the many elaborate and often ill-conceived plans Calvin develops in his attempts to raid the cookie jar.

-->'''Group''': [[EarWorm Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar?]]\\