Elevenses is a short
break
Break or Breaks or The Break may refer to:
Time off from duties
* Recess (break), time in which a group of people is temporarily dismissed from its duties
* Break (work), time off during a shift/recess
** Coffee break, a short mid-morning res ...
taken at around 11:00a.m. to consume a drink or snack. The names and details vary among countries.
Regional variations
Australia and New Zealand
In
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
, elevenses is known as "morning tea" and occurs at approximately 10:30am. Many workplaces organize morning teas for staff to welcome new employees, for special occasions such as a birthday, or simply as a regular event. Food will sometimes be provided by the business, but often employees will be expected to bring food to share.
Farmers, shearers and tradespeople in both countries often refer to this mid-morning break as
Smoko
In Australian, New Zealand and Falkland Islands English, a smoko (also "smoke-o" or "smoke-oh") is a short, often informal break taken during work or military duty, although any short break such as a rest or a coffee or tea break can be call ...
.
Belgium
In
Flemish
Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...
, this kind of snack is called a ''tienuurtje'', literally a "little (one of) 10 o'clock". A ''tienuurtje'' typically consists of one or more cookies or some piece of fruit and may be accompanied by fruit juice or chocolate milk. Many parents give their children a ''tienuurtje'' to eat during the mid-morning school break.
A similar kind of snack for the afternoon break is called a ''vieruurtje'', literally "little (one of) 4 o'clock".
Chile
In many Spanish-speaking cultures, elevenses is observed under the name ''las once'' or ''la once'' (in Spanish, ''once'' means 'eleven'). However, in
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
it has shifted to the afternoon, sometimes replacing the traditional dinner.
In the 2010–2011 National Food Consumption Survey, around 80% of the Chileans reported having ''once''. This is due to ''once'' sometimes replacing the traditional dinner in Chile, which only 30% of the population reported having. Here, traditional dinner means a proper meal with vegetables, meat, poultry and fish. ''La once'' resembles a light version of British High Tea.
An alternative widespread, but unfounded,
popular etymology
A false etymology (fake etymology, popular etymology, etymythology, pseudo-etymology, or par(a)etymology) is a popular but false belief about the origin or derivation of a specific word. It is sometimes called a folk etymology, but this is also a ...
for the word in Chile is that priests (in other versions, workers or women) used the phrase ''tomar las once'' (Spanish: "drink the eleven") in reference to the eleven letters of the word ''
Aguardiente
( Spanish), or ( Portuguese) ( eu, pattar; ca, aiguardent; gl, augardente), is a generic term for alcoholic beverages that contain between 29% and 60% alcohol by volume (ABV). It originates in the Iberian Peninsula (Portugal and Spain) and in ...
'' to conceal the fact that they were drinking during the day.
[
]
Colombia
In Colombia, it is common to have a snack named ''onces''. It consists mainly of hot chocolate or coffee with arepa
''Arepa'' () is a type of food made of ground maize dough stuffed with a filling, eaten in the northern region of South America since pre-Columbian times, and notable primarily in the cuisine of Colombia and Venezuela, but also present in the cuis ...
, bread, or crackers, usually taken around 5:00 p.m. In the morning, the snack consist of the same type of food but it is called ''medias nueves''. It is served generally between 9:00 and 11:00.
Hungary
Elevenses in Hungarian is called ''Tíz-órai'' which translates to "of the 10 o'clock", referring to "the meal of the 10 o'clock". This is a break between breakfast and lunch, when it is time for a light meal or snack. In schools the early lunch break is called a ''Tíz-órai'' break. Parallel to the word Elevenses, ''Tíz-órai'' is often called Tenses "Tenzeez" by Hungarian-Americans and Hungarian-Britons.
India
In certain parts of rural India, especially in northern states like Punjab, it is a usual practice to take tea break after couple of hours of breakfast. When the practice began, there was no set clock and break is usually between 10-11am, so it was named after 10am, as "Das-Baja" (means 10 o'clock tea).
This practice is slowly getting obsolete in fast moving world of cities and towns, but rural area breaks for the workers in fields is still very popular.
Israel
In Israel it is called ארוחת עשר (''arukhat eser'', Hebrew for "10 o'clock meal"), mostly eaten at schools and kindergartens in the form of homemade sandwiches, often accompanied with a fruit or other snack, after the second hour of the school day and before the so-called "small break". It also occurs in major unionized workplaces, such as factories and customer services reception centres, where workers are handed tea.
Netherlands
In West Friesland country people had a similar meal called ''konkelstik'' (served at ''konkeltoid'', the proper time for ''konkelen'', a verb denoting "making a visit").
Poland
In Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
the ''drugie śniadanie'' (lit. "second breakfast
Second breakfast (or german: zweites Frühstück, pl, drugie śniadanie, sk, desiata, es, almuerzo, hu, tízórai) is a meal eaten after breakfast, but before lunch. It is a traditional meal in Bavaria, Poland, Slovakia, Spain and Hungary. I ...
") is eaten in the midmorning. Rather than a heavy chunk of sausage or other meat, though, like the German second breakfast
Second breakfast (or german: zweites Frühstück, pl, drugie śniadanie, sk, desiata, es, almuerzo, hu, tízórai) is a meal eaten after breakfast, but before lunch. It is a traditional meal in Bavaria, Poland, Slovakia, Spain and Hungary. I ...
, Poles prefer a lighter, dessert-like pastry or sweet with a hot drink, more similar to the American "coffee break".
Slovakia
In Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
, ''desiata'' (lit. "tenth", from "tenth hour") can be eaten at or around 10 a.m. It usually consists of a small snack, fruit, or a sandwich, i.e. a lighter meal, so as not to fill the stomach before lunch. In schools, the break between classes around 10 a.m. is referred to as ''desiatová prestávka'' (lit. "tenth break", or "break for the tenth") and may be a few minutes longer than other breaks, to give the students time to eat their ''desiata''. Note: although the word ''desiata'' is grammatically an ordinal numeral, it is treated as a noun in this context.
Spain
In Spain it is not rare to have a short meal break around 11:00a.m., particularly in jobs of intense physical activity; this can range from a hot drink paired with light snacks like pastries to a sandwich, scrambled eggs or a piece of Spanish omelette
Spanish omelette or Spanish tortilla is a traditional dish from Spain. Celebrated as a national dish by Spaniards, it is an essential part of the Spanish cuisine. It is an omelette made with eggs and potatoes, optionally including onion. It is o ...
(also known as a ''pincho''). This meal is sometimes known as ''almuerzo'', although this word is used inconsistently and often just means ''lunch''. Also note lunch time in Spain can be as late as 3:00 p.m., which conditions mid-morning customs.
In the Basque Country in particular it is common to have a mid-morning snack consisting of high-protein food like eggs, bacon, or cured meat on bread, called ''hamarretako'' (literally "10 o'clock (snack)") or ''hamaiketako'' ("11 o'clock (snack)").
Sweden
In Sweden, it is common to drink coffee at 11:00, elvakaffe (lit. coffee at eleven), often with a few biscuits or a light sandwich.
Switzerland
In Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, there is a ''Znüni'' ("(Meal) at nine", following the nomenclature of Breakfast (''Zmorge''), Lunch (''Zmittag''), afternoon snack at four (''Zvieri'') and Dinner (''Znacht'')). The name, despite referring to a specific time, stays the same no matter the actual time of the snack break; especially in schools, it is usually at 10am.
United Kingdom
Elevenses, eaten at 11:00 as the name suggests, typically consists of tea or coffee, often with a few biscuits
A biscuit is a flour-based baked and shaped food product. In most countries biscuits are typically hard, flat, and unleavened. They are usually sweet and may be made with sugar, chocolate, icing, jam, ginger, or cinnamon. They can also b ...
. Sometimes, cake or other snacks are eaten instead.
United States
During the first decades of the 19th century, ''elevenses'' consisted of drinking whiskey
Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden cask ...
. In modern times, hourly workers take a break known as a coffee break
A break at work (or work-break) is a period of time during a shift in which an employee is allowed to take time off from their job. It is a type of downtime. There are different types of breaks, and depending on the length and the employer' ...
, typically around 10:00a.m., or in the first third of a work shift Often, this is done in a break room, and small snacks may be eaten as well.
It is common for school children to have a short snack break called morning snack. This is offered in the morning before lunch, usually between 9:00 and 11:00.
In popular culture
For elevenses, Winnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear and Pooh, is a fictional Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard.
The first collection of stories about the character w ...
preferred honey on bread with condensed milk
Condensed milk is cow's milk from which water has been removed (roughly 60% of it). It is most often found with sugar added, in the form of ''sweetened condensed milk'' (SCM), to the extent that the terms "condensed milk" and "sweetened condens ...
. Paddington Bear
Paddington Bear is a fictional character in children's literature. He first appeared on 13 October 1958 in the children's book ''A Bear Called Paddington'' and has been featured in more than twenty books written by British author Michael Bond, a ...
often took elevenses at the antique shop on Portobello Road
Portobello Road is a street in the Notting Hill district of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in west London. It runs almost the length of Notting Hill from south to north, roughly parallel with Ladbroke Grove. On Saturdays it is ...
run by his friend Mr Gruber, for which Paddington would buy buns and Mr Gruber would make cocoa (hot chocolate
Hot chocolate, also known as hot cocoa or drinking chocolate, is a heated drink consisting of shaved chocolate, melted chocolate or cocoa powder, heated milk or water, and usually a sweetener like whipped cream or marshmallows. Hot chocolate ...
).
In the Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the fictional setting of much of the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy. The term is equivalent to the ''Miðgarðr'' of Norse mythology and ''Middangeard'' in Old English works, including ''Beowulf''. Middle-earth is t ...
stories by J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''.
From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...
(''The Lord of the Rings
''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...
''), a party is implied to be particularly lavish in that food was served "continuously from elevenses until six-thirty".
See also
* Second breakfast
Second breakfast (or german: zweites Frühstück, pl, drugie śniadanie, sk, desiata, es, almuerzo, hu, tízórai) is a meal eaten after breakfast, but before lunch. It is a traditional meal in Bavaria, Poland, Slovakia, Spain and Hungary. I ...
* Break (work)
A break at work (or work-break) is a period of time during a shift in which an employee is allowed to take time off from their job. It is a type of downtime. There are different types of breaks, and depending on the length and the employer' ...
* Tea (meal)
Tea (in reference to food, rather than the drink) has long been used as an umbrella term for several different meals. English writer Isabella Beeton, whose books on home economics were widely read in the 19th century, describes meals of var ...
* Fika (coffee break)
Coffee culture is the set of traditions and social behaviors that surround the consumption of coffee, particularly as a social lubricant. The term also refers to the cultural diffusion and adoption of coffee as a widely consumed stimulant. In the l ...
References
External links
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