Do you understand the term "elevenses"?

[redskyanight]

My company has decided to introduce a monthly "elevenses" where they will provide drinks and biscuits and staff are encouraged to come and talk to colleagues they don't normally speak to.

I was chatting about this at home and 20 year old DS said he'd absolutely no idea what "elevenses" were and had never heard the term before. DH reckons it is an old fashioned concept these days and will be incomprehensible to anyone under 35.

So, straw poll - have you/ your DC heard of elevenses and is this now an outdated term?

I’m really surprised at this thread - I had no idea it was considered an old fashioned term or that so many people wouldn’t understand what it meant! It’s always been in use as a term in our family so teen DD is well aware of what it means and uses it herself.

I don’t think I have ever said or heard someone say elevenses out loud in my life. It’s the sort of thing that comes from end blyton type books.

I did work somewhere for about 3 years where there was an 11am coffee time that lots of people did go to. It was never called elevenses though.

You have awakened a memory of Nutrigrain Elevenses. They are amazing!

I’m 38, we had elevenses at school, consisting of milk and half an apple. I still use the word elevenses

In Scotland we have elevenses and threeses - I always assumed it stemmed from the hard physical work of ship building and mining where men stopped for a refuel in between 9 & 1 and between 1 & 6

In which part of Scotland is this? I'm Scottish and I'm only familiar with elevenses from books. I've never heard anyone actually refer to elevenses let alone threeses. The regional variations are so interesting.

Yes i do

And Second Breakfast 🤣

12 yr old DS. It's a snack at 11 am. Learnt this from LOTR, Merry and Pippin. 😂

Of course, how could I have forgotten that! Though my Grandma definitely gave me Elevenses years before I read the Paddington books!