Background: We have a local food that's something between "broth" and "noodles". Unfortunately, English language experts in Iran don't bother to introduce a suitable word that deals with the problem. But that isn't the problem. To know how I'll be able to use a suitable word (if any), I first need to make sure of the following:
Problem: As well phrased by the title, is there a regulation or a norm which disallows us from "drinking/eating soup"?
Or is this totally context-based (as abiding the rule that if we refer to the liquid, it must be "drinking" and if we refer to the solid ingredients, it's "eating"?)
There's also a third possibility in which natives take the "viscosity" or the solid nature of food into consideration and decide which verb to use, but I have got no clues.
FYI, This is the local food that has given rise to this question:
Best Answer
The rule of thumb that I would recommend is, if you consume it by:
Normally, soup would fall into the first category (using a spoon), so I would tend to say "eat your soup". (However, when you pick up the bowl and pour the last ounce or two of liquid straight into your mouth, I would tend to say that you are "drinking the last drops from the bowl".
The actual difference between eating something and drinking something is that when you eat, you get some quantity of the item in your mouth, you (optionally, but recommended!) chew it, and then you swallow once. When you drink, you have a continuous supply of the item entering your mouth, and you swallow at least once (but usually more), without ever chewing. So it is entirely possible, as you note, to choose between eating your broth and drinking it.
The upshot is, if you are serving this local food with a spoon, you can safely refer to eating it.
It's also worth noting that you can avoid the entire eat/drink issue by using the generic word have, in its sense of "partake / consume":