brown-bag lunch
food brought from home to eat at work
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
Every week on Thursdays a BROWN-BAG LUNCH takes place at the JMC where a member of our staff presents a scientific theorem.
Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence
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With more than 8.5 billion BROWN-BAG LUNCHES being packed by Americans in 2008, and 93 percent of them packed for financial reasons, Qdoba Mexican Grill announced today that it will offer guests an affordable, fresh, hot alternative…
www.businesswire.com
Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence
---
With more than 8.5 billion BROWN-BAG LUNCHES being packed by Americans in 2008, and 93 percent of them packed for financial reasons, Qdoba Mexican Grill announced today that it will offer guests an affordable, fresh, hot alternative…
www.businesswire.com
Did you
know?
brown-bag lunch
noun phrase (U.S.)
- A packed lunch carried to work, school, etc.
Oxford Dictionaries
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WORD ORIGIN
In the days when women generally stayed at home, one of the morning rituals was making lunch for the husband and kids. Particularly in some older films and TV series, mom would stand at the front door and hand out brown paper bags as dad and the kids happily headed out for a day of work and school.
Hollywood was not the creator of the brown bag though. These scenes genuinely reflected an era when it was common for people to take lunch to work in brown paper bags. People still take lunch to work and school, but the brown-bag has given way to plastic bags and plastic containers.
Apart from lunch, the brown bag has a different side to its history: as packaging for alcoholic beverages.
Many of the so-called "liquor stores" and "package stores" in the U.S. still put beer and other alcoholic beverages in brown paper bags for customers. This makes it easy to carry it right out to the street and hide it while drinking it (it is illegal in many states to drink alcohol on public streets). While its bad reputation might be unfounded in this case, for this reason the brown bag is still associated with the homeless alcoholic.
But to return to lunch for a moment, the "brown-bag lunch" also describes a relatively new type of event, such as seminars and workshops, where participants are encouraged to bring their own lunch.
Brown-bag lunches have gained popularity and are frequently used by organisations that do not have the money to spend on refreshments or meals for participants. It also creates a more informal atmosphere, which appeals to a broader target group.
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SMUGGLE OWAD INTO TODAY'S CONVERSATION
Say something like:
"Schedule the staff meeting for 12 o'clock and tell everyone to bring a brown-bag lunch."
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THANK YOU
Thanks to Daniel and Christiane for each suggesting today's word!
noun phrase (U.S.)
- A packed lunch carried to work, school, etc.
Oxford Dictionaries
---
WORD ORIGIN
In the days when women generally stayed at home, one of the morning rituals was making lunch for the husband and kids. Particularly in some older films and TV series, mom would stand at the front door and hand out brown paper bags as dad and the kids happily headed out for a day of work and school.
Hollywood was not the creator of the brown bag though. These scenes genuinely reflected an era when it was common for people to take lunch to work in brown paper bags. People still take lunch to work and school, but the brown-bag has given way to plastic bags and plastic containers.
Apart from lunch, the brown bag has a different side to its history: as packaging for alcoholic beverages.
Many of the so-called "liquor stores" and "package stores" in the U.S. still put beer and other alcoholic beverages in brown paper bags for customers. This makes it easy to carry it right out to the street and hide it while drinking it (it is illegal in many states to drink alcohol on public streets). While its bad reputation might be unfounded in this case, for this reason the brown bag is still associated with the homeless alcoholic.
But to return to lunch for a moment, the "brown-bag lunch" also describes a relatively new type of event, such as seminars and workshops, where participants are encouraged to bring their own lunch.
Brown-bag lunches have gained popularity and are frequently used by organisations that do not have the money to spend on refreshments or meals for participants. It also creates a more informal atmosphere, which appeals to a broader target group.
---
SMUGGLE OWAD INTO TODAY'S CONVERSATION
Say something like:
"Schedule the staff meeting for 12 o'clock and tell everyone to bring a brown-bag lunch."
---
THANK YOU
Thanks to Daniel and Christiane for each suggesting today's word!
