Meaning of Elevenses | Babel Free

Definitions

A short mid-morning break taken around eleven o'clock for a drink or light snack.

British, informal, uncountable, usually

Equivalents

Examples

“The harvestmen who board⟳ in the farm-houses fare sumptuously during the month of harvest⟳.— […] at eleven o'clock in the morning, and four in the afternoon, they have⟳ each a large light⟳ plum-bun, with a pint of ale a piece, carried into the field, to encourage⟳ them to work⟳ cheerfully. These extra refreshments they call⟳, in their provincial language, their "elevenses" and "fourses." I could not at first imagine⟳ what the servants meant by talking of carrying the harvestmen their elevenses and fourses, till Mrs. Henley explained that it was a vulgar abbreviation of the four-o'clock and eleven o'clock meals.”

“"In Europe," said Ghosh Babu who read⟳ a great deal⟳, "they all stop⟳ work⟳ at eleven to have⟳ tea or coffee or cocoa, or some stronger beverage; they call⟳ it elevenses." / […] ["]Ghosh Babu, how long time they get⟳ for elevenses?" / "About half-an-hour," replied Ghosh with authority. […] / "We get⟳ no time off for elevenses," complained Sambamurthy. "We should bring⟳ it up before the Clerks' Association."”

“Even in these tough economic times when many employers seem hell-bent on sucking any and all vestiges of pleasure out of the daily existence of the average working stiff, some things remain⟳ sacrosanct. Chief among them is the partaking of elevenses. Even if we spend⟳ the majority of our lives glued to a desk, staring at a computer screen or in meetings pretending we care about the interpretation of a spreadsheet, the break⟳ for a hot drink⟳ and a little snackette between breakfast and lunch is a covenant between Britain and God.”

“Betjeman, who was a bit of a gricer, wrote: "I know⟳ of no greater pleasure for elevenses in London than to sit⟳ in this tea place⟳ and watch⟳ the trains arrive⟳ and depart."”

CEFR level