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Elevenses (/ɪˈlɛvənzɪz/) is a shortbreak taken at around 11:00 a.m. to consume a drink or snack. The names and details vary among countries.
Australia andNew Zealand have "morning tea" that occurs at approximately 10:30 a.m. This is often a break from work that is formally codified into some workplace agreements.[1] It is standard practice for schools to have a morning tea break for students, which may be colloquially known aslittle lunch.[2] Many workplaces organise an event or celebration during morning tea in order to welcome new employees, say farewell colleagues who are leaving (e.g. retirement), to commemorate special occasions such as birthdays, or simply as a regular social event for staff to get together.
Farmers, shearers and tradespeople in both countries often refer to this mid-morning break as asmoko, which has origins in having a break for smoking. However, despite the literal meaning, the phrase is in common use by non-smokers, who may simply partake in having a cup of tea or coffee instead at this time.
InFlemish, this type of snack is called "tienuurtje",lit. 'a little (one of) 10 o'clock'.[3] Atienuurtje 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 atienuurtje to eat during the mid-morning school break.A similar type of snack for the afternoon break is called "vieruurtje",lit. 'little (one of) 4 o'clock'.
In Bolivia, elevenses are consumed at 11:00am; called Salteñadas, where the BolivianSalteña is consumed usually with a soft drink.
This has spread to all social classes and regions of the country.
Usually by noon all Salteña vendors have run out of the savory dish.
In Chile, elevenses is observed under the namelas once orla once (in Spanish,once means 'eleven'). However, inChile it has shifted to the afternoon, sometimes replacing the traditional dinner.[4]
In the 2010–11 National Food Consumption Survey, around 80% of the Chileans reported havingonce. This is due toonce 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.[5]
An alternative widespread, but unfounded,popular etymology for the word in Chile is that priests (in other versions, workers or women) used the phrasetomar las once (Spanish: 'drink the eleven') in reference to the eleven letters of the wordAguardiente to conceal the fact that they were drinking during the day.[5]
In Colombia, it is common to have a snack namedonces. It consists mainly of hot chocolate or coffee witharepa, bread, or crackers, usually taken around 17:00. In the morning, the snack consist of the same type of food but it is called "medias nueves". It is served generally between 09-11:00.
In Germany, 10:30 a.m. is a popular time for workers to eat a snack.[citation needed] Most people nowadays will attribute German self-awareness of this to an advertisement forKnoppers, a chocolate-covered wafer bar, with the saying "Morgens, halb Zehn, in Deutschland…" ("In the morning, 9:30, in Germany…"), that had become its own meme. The most common snacks include filled rolls, e.g.Mettbrötchen (raw pork mince),Leberkäse,Schnitzel, three small sausages (Wiener orNürnberger), etc., all preferably warm; or cold meats.[citation needed]
Elevenses in Hungarian is called "tízórai", 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 a school environment, the early lunch break is called "tízórai". Parallel to the wordelevenses,tízórai is often called Tenses "Tenzeez" by Hungarian-Americans and Hungarian-Britons.
In certain parts of rural India, especially in northern states, such as Punjab, it is normal practice to take a tea break two or three hours after breakfast. When the practice began, there was no set clock and break was usually between 10–11 a.m., so as in other countries it was named after the approximate time;Das-Baja, meaning '10 o'clock tea'.
The practice is slowly becoming obsolete in cities and towns, especially in professional jobs, but in rural areas; such breaks at that time for manual and agricultural labourers are still very popular.
In Israel, it is called ארוחת עשר (arukhat eser, Hebrew for '10 o'clock meal'), mostly eaten at schools and pre-schools 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 unionised workplaces, such as factories and call centres, where workers are given tea to drink.
InWest Friesland, country people had a similar meal called "konkelstik" (served atkonkeltiid, the proper time forkonkelen, a verb denoting "making a visit").[6][7]
InPoland, thedrugie śniadanie (lit. 'second breakfast') is eaten in the mid-morning. Rather than a heavy chunk of sausage or other meat, though, like the Germansecond breakfast, Poles prefer sandwiches or a light, dessert-like pastry (e.g.sweet roll) or sweet with a hot drink, more similar to the American "coffee break".[8]
InSlovakia,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 asdesiatová 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 theirdesiata. Note: although the worddesiata is grammatically an ordinal numeral, it is treated as a noun in this context.
In Spain, it is not uncommon to have a short meal break around 11:00 a.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 ofSpanish omelette (also known as atortilla espan̈ola). This meal is sometimes known asalmuerzo, although this word is used inconsistently and mostly just means 'lunch'. However, lunchtime in Spain can be as late as 3:00 p.m., which conditions mid-morning customs.
In theBasque 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" (lit. '10 o'clock (snack)') or "hamaiketako" (lit. '11 o'clock (snack)').
In Sweden, it is common to drink coffee at 11:00 a.m.,elvakaffe (lit. 'coffee at eleven'), often with a few biscuits or a light sandwich.
InSwitzerland, there is aZnüni ('(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 10:00 a.m..
Elevenses, eaten at 11:00 a.m. as the name suggests, typically consists of tea or coffee, often with a fewbiscuits. Sometimes, cake or other snacks are eaten instead.[9]
During the first decades of the 19th century, elevenses consisted of drinkingwhiskey.[10] In modern times, hourly workers take a break known as acoffee break, typically around 10:00 a.m., or in the first third of a work shift.[citation needed] 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 a.m. In Wisconsin and some other Midwestern states, this break is called "milk break" with students served a small carton of milk.
InA.A. Milne’s ‘’Winnie-the-Pooh’’, Pooh arrives at Rabbit’s house for elevenses. When offered a choice between condensed milk or honey on his bread, Pooh responds “both – but never mind the bread.”
Paddington Bear often took elevenses at the antique shop onPortobello Road run by his friend Mr Gruber,[11] for which Paddington would buy buns and Mr Gruber would makecocoa.
InJ. R. R. Tolkien'sThe Lord of the Rings, elevenses is one of the many meals that is enjoyed by the Hobbits of the Shire, served daily between second breakfast and luncheon. In addition, a party is implied to be particularly lavish in that food was served "continuously from elevenses until six-thirty".[12]
InFireman Sam, Dilys Price regularly took elevenses at Bella Lasagne's café.
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