A typical Ploughman's Lunch.

See The Ploughman's Lunch for the movie.

In the United Kingdom, ploughman's lunch is a cold snack or meal, comprising at a minimum a thick piece of cheese (usually Cheddar, Stilton, or other local cheese), relish (often Branston Pickle, sometimes piccalilli and/or pickled onions), crusty bap or chunk of bread, and butter. Image File history File linksMetadata Ploughman_Lunch. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Ploughman_Lunch. ... Richard Eyre directed The Ploughmans Lunch, a 1983 issues film whose subtext, according to the BFI, is the way countries and people re-write their own history to suit the needs of the present; the films title is a metaphor for the rewriting said to have occurred in... A snack food is seen in Western culture as a type of food that is not meant to be eaten as part of one of the main meals of the day (breakfast, lunch, supper). ... For the coarsely ground flour, see flour. ... Cheese is a solid food made from the milk of cows, goats, sheep, and other mammals. ... Cheddar cheese is a fairly hard, pale yellow to orange, sharp-tasting cheese originating from the English village of Cheddar, in Somerset. ... Stilton cheese is a cheese of England. ... For other uses, see Relish (disambiguation). ... A jar of Branston Pickle Branston Pickle is a United Kingdom brand of jarred pickled relish. ... Piccalilli is a mustard pickle, which generally contains gherkins, cauliflower and onions, but may contain virtually any type of vegetable. ... A jar of pickled onions The pickled onion is a popular pickled food consisting of small onions pickled in a solution of vinegar and salt, often with other preservatives and flavourings. ... Two rolls Bread Rolls at a bakery Bread Rolls in a basket A bread roll is a piece of bread, usually small and round and is commonly considered a side dish. ... For other uses, see Bread (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Butter (disambiguation). ...

It is often accompanied by a green salad; other common additions are half an apple, celery, pâté, crisps, diced hard boiled egg or beetroot. This article deals with food. ... This article is about the fruit. ... Binomial name L. Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults. ... Various pâtés and terrines Salmon terrine, with a cream and herb sauce A slice of Bloc de foie gras Pâté (French pronunciation: ; RP pronunciation: ; General American pronunciation ) is a form of spreadable paste, usually made from meat (although vegetarian variants exist), and often served with toast as... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Potato chips. ... Opened soft-boiled egg in an egg cup. ... Binomial name Carolus Linnaeus Beta vulgaris, commonly known as beet is a flowering plant species in the family Chenopodiaceae. ...

It is a common menu item in English pubs, often shortened when ordering to 'a ploughman's.' For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Pub redirects here. ...

The familiarity of the ploughman's lunch has led catering companies to describe a sandwich containing Cheddar, pickle and salad as a 'ploughman's sandwich.' For other uses, see Sandwich (disambiguation). ...

Etymology

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) dates this phrase back to at least 1837, in the book Memoirs of the life of Sir Walter Scott by John G. Lockhart; but this stray early use may have meant merely the sum of its parts, "a lunch for a ploughman". The Oxford English Dictionary print set The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is a dictionary published by the Oxford University Press (OUP), and is the most successful dictionary of the English language, (not to be confused with the one-volume Oxford Dictionary of English, formerly New Oxford Dictionary of English, of... For the first Premier of Saskatchewan see Thomas Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott (August 14, 1771 - September 21, 1832) was a prolific Scottish historical novelist and poet popular throughout Europe. ... John Gibson Lockhart (July 14, 1794 - November 25, 1854), Scottish writer and editor, was born in the manse of Cambusnethan in Lanarkshire, where his father, Dr John Lockhart, transferred in 1796 to Glasgow, was minister. ...

Until recently, the OED's next citation was only from 1970, indicating a long period of time when the meal was virtually unknown in its native land. It is this long disuse and recent rediscovery that has led some people, such as the writer Ian McEwan (in his film The Ploughman's Lunch), to portray the dish as being a recent invention dressed up as a traditional meal. Ian McEwan CBE (born June 21, 1948) is a British novelist. ... Richard Eyre directed The Ploughmans Lunch, a 1983 issues film whose subtext, according to the BFI, is the way countries and people re-write their own history to suit the needs of the present; the films title is a metaphor for the rewriting said to have occurred in...

In Britain ploughing is usually done during winter. Before the 20th century, at that time of year the ploughman’s wife or mother would have been unlikely to include salad in the ploughman’s lunch. Green vegetables would be difficult to get in winter. A real ploughman's lunch would have more likely consisted of just cheese and pickle. Onions, however were cheap and easily obtainable as were cheese and pickles made earlier. Onions could be cut up raw and included in a ploughman's lunch or pickled onions could be used. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a country in western Europe, and member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the G8, the European Union, and NATO. Usually known simply as the United Kingdom, the UK, or (inaccurately) as Great Britain or Britain, the UK has four constituent... The traditional way: a German farmer works the land with horses and plough. ... Fresh Swiss chard Fresh water spinach Creamed spinach Steamed kale Leaf vegetables, also called potherbs, greens, or leafy greens, are plant leaves eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender petioles and shoots. ... For other uses, see Onion (disambiguation). ...

Lexicographer Edwin Radford in To Coin a Phrase (1974) attributes the current usage to Richard Trehane, chairman of the English Country Cheese Council. Nigel Rees also concluded current usage to be 1970s marketing. The pursuit of lexicography is divided into two related disciplines: Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries. ... Nigel Rees (born June 5, 1944, near Liverpool) is a British author and presenter, best known for devising and hosting the Radio 4 panel game Quote Unquote and for his keen interest in the use and misuse of the English language. ...

In 2005, research by Victoria Coren and others for the Wordhunt project traced the origin of the phrase to 1960, with documentary evidence in the form of minutes of meetings of the English Country Cheese Council, together with contemporaneous advertising matter. The new evidence supports Trehane as the inventor of the term. The new citation has been incorporated into the online edition of the OED and will be included in the next revision of the published dictionary. Victoria Vicky Coren (born 1972) is a British writer, presenter and poker player. ... Balderdash & Piffle is a BBC2 series looking at the origins of words and phrases in the English language. ...

There was a statement on BBC TV that the idea for the 'ploughman's lunch' arose when a workman working in a café brought a packed lunch of bread and cheese and pickle to work; a customer saw it and ordered it, and was curtly told 'That's a navvy's lunch'; but that gave the management the idea of selling similar meals. This article is an overview article about the Crown chartered British Broadcasting Corporation formed in 1927. ... Cafe redirects here. ... Bento packed lunch. ... A navvy depicted in Ford Madox Browns painting Work Navvy is a shorter form of navigational engineer (USA) or navigator (UK) and is particularly applied to describe the manual labourers working on major civil engineering projects. ...

References

• Why Do We Say ...?, Nigel Rees, 1987, ISBN 0-7137-1944-3.
• Ploughman's lunch

Nigel Rees (born June 5, 1944, near Liverpool) is a British author and presenter, best known for devising and hosting the Radio 4 panel game Quote Unquote and for his keen interest in the use and misuse of the English language. ...

External links

General

• BBC H2G2 entry on ploughmans lunch - describes historical origins and has detailed information on typical ingredients used.

Etymology

• Oxford English Dictionary (OED) entry, part of a BBC Wordhunt appeal
• OED questions the origin of the term, part of a BBC Wordhunt appeal
• User comments on the 'Icons of England' site - concerning the view that the term was invented for marketing purposes, rather than from the eating habits of real ploughmen.

Balderdash & Piffle is a BBC2 series looking at the origins of words and phrases in the English language. ... Balderdash & Piffle is a BBC2 series looking at the origins of words and phrases in the English language. ...

Significance in British popular culture

• Entry for ploughman's lunch on the 'Icons of England' website
• The Ploughman's Lunch film from a BFI website

Recipes

• Recipe for Ploughman's Lunch