Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Wednesday Word: Tiffin

tiffin |ˈtifin| nounIndian or dated a light meal, especially lunch.ORIGIN early 19th cent.: apparently from dialect tiffing ‘sipping,’ of unknown origin.
So very British. I think I spotted it in a Ngaio Marsh novel.

4 comments:

  1. I think you're right; it's the sort of word her characters use. I use it in the family for fun, too, although I tend to use to to mean a snack.

    I also associate it with a chocolate-biscuit-with-fruit slab.

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  2. Replies
    1. It should be the name for a Dr. Who alien race. "The Invasion of the Tiffins."

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