Room and board is a phrase describing a situation in which, in exchange for
money
Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money ar ...
,
labor or other considerations, a person is provided with a place to live as well as meals on a comprehensive basis. It commonly occurs as a fee at higher educational institutions, such as colleges and universities; it also occurs in hotel-style accommodation for short stays.
Definition
*''Room'' refers to a private bedroom provided, sometimes with a private ensuite bathroom.
*''Board'' may refer to the food being provided, or alternatively, the table on which food is served.
With a room and board arrangement, the renter has a private bedroom and shares the rest of the house with the person renting out the room. This is different from
renting where the renter has private living areas, including a bedroom, bathroom and kitchen.
Two commonly encountered boards are:
* ''Half Board'', where the host provides only a
breakfast
Breakfast is the first meal of the day usually eaten in the morning. The word in English refers to breaking the fasting period of the previous night.Anderson, Heather Arndt (2013)''Breakfast: A History'' AltaMira Press. Various "typical" or " ...
and
dinner meals.
* ''Full Board'', where the host provides all three daily meals.
Another option is:
* ''
Bed and breakfast'', literally, a place to sleep and where breakfast is provided.
See also
*
Bistro, a type of informal French restaurant
*
Boarding house, a lodging establishment
*
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of " room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exte ...
*
Parlour boarder, an archaic term for a category of pupil at boarding school
*
Sideboard, an article of furniture from which food is served in a dining room
References
* http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/15/messages/521.html
* http://www.funtrivia.com/askft/Question30318.html
* http://www.snopes.com/language/phrases/1500.htm
External link
*
Hotel terminology
Food and drink terminology
{{Economics-stub