Meaning of banyan day | Babel Free

Definitions

1. In British naval tradition, a day of the week when galley kitchens served no meat on board ship.
   UK, dated, idiomatic
2. A picnic or cookout for the ship's crew.
   UK, idiomatic

Examples

“This was a favourable circumstance in one respect to myself and the ship's company, for as Tuesday is a sumptuous day in point of allowance in the navy, beef and pudding being the prescribed fare for dinner, we by this accident feasted two days together; whereas had it occurred on a Monday, Wednesday, or Friday, two successive banyan (or starvation) days would have been our dismal portion.”

CEFR level