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Usenet Posted 22 years ago
Usage
The tea of an afternoon
Hello:
Is this "tea of an afternoon" an idiomatic expression, similar to "five o'clock tea"? Is it more AmE than BrE?
I originally found it in:
Supposing that you should come upon us sitting together at one of the little tables in front of the club house, let us say, at Homburg, taking TEA OF THE AFTERNOON and watching the miniature golf, you would have said that, as human affairs go, we were an extraordinarily safe castle.
(Ford Maddox Ford, The Good Soldier, 1915, p. 13)
when I initially thought it's probably just a case of old-fashioned usage, one perhaps being able to say in the context:
" ... taking tea in the afternoon and watching ..." or
" ... taking tea one afternoon and watching ..."
or
" ... taking tea during afternoon and watching ..."
but it is still present in some modern Web pages, perhaps as a reference to a lifestyle of leisure. Is this the suggestion?
Thanks,
Marius Hancu
Is this "tea of an afternoon" an idiomatic expression, similar to "five o'clock tea"? Is it more AmE than BrE?
I originally found it in:
Supposing that you should come upon us sitting together at one of the little tables in front of the club house, let us say, at Homburg, taking TEA OF THE AFTERNOON and watching the miniature golf, you would have said that, as human affairs go, we were an extraordinarily safe castle.
(Ford Maddox Ford, The Good Soldier, 1915, p. 13)
when I initially thought it's probably just a case of old-fashioned usage, one perhaps being able to say in the context:
" ... taking tea in the afternoon and watching ..." or
" ... taking tea one afternoon and watching ..."
or
" ... taking tea during afternoon and watching ..."
but it is still present in some modern Web pages, perhaps as a reference to a lifestyle of leisure. Is this the suggestion?
Thanks,
Marius Hancu
Top answer
[nq:1]Hello: Is this "tea of an afternoon" an idiomatic expression, similar to "five o'clock tea"? [/nq] I think that the relevant phrase is "of an afternoon", meaning approximately "in the afternoons", in a sentence describing a customary activity. ) For example: "The five men were very close friends.
- [nq:1]Hello: Is this "tea of an afternoon" an idiomatic expression, similar to "five o'clock tea"?
- [/nq] I think that the relevant phrase is "of an afternoon", meaning approximately "in the afternoons", in a sentence describing a customary activity.
- ) For example: "The five men were very close friends.
- They worked in different nearby towns.
- However, of a weekday evening they could be found in Jimmy's Bar.
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39 Answers
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[nq:1]Hello: Is this "tea of an afternoon" an idiomatic expression, similar to "five o'clock tea"? Is it more AmE than BrE?[/nq]
I think that the relevant phrase is "of an afternoon", meaning approximately "in the afternoons", in a sentence describing a customary activity. (Of course, afternoon could be replace by morning, night or any other indicator of a period of the day.)
For example:
I think that the relevant phrase is "of an afternoon", meaning approximately "in the afternoons", in a sentence describing a customary activity. (Of course, afternoon could be replace by morning, night or any other indicator of a period of the day.)
For example:
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[nq:1]Is this "tea of an afternoon" an idiomatic expression, similar to[/nq]
[nq:2]Is this "tea of an afternoon" an idiomatic expression, similar to "five o'clock tea"? Is it more AmE than BrE?[/nq]
[nq:1]I think that the relevant phrase is "of an afternoon", meaning approximately "in the afternoons", in a sentence describing a customary activity. (Of course, afternoon could be replace by
[nq:2]Is this "tea of an afternoon" an idiomatic expression, similar to "five o'clock tea"? Is it more AmE than BrE?[/nq]
[nq:1]I think that the relevant phrase is "of an afternoon", meaning approximately "in the afternoons", in a sentence describing a customary activity. (Of course, afternoon could be replace by
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[nq:2]For example: "The five men were very close friends. They ... a weekday evening they could be found in Jimmy's Bar."[/nq]
[nq:1]Just curious, could "on" replace "of" in your example for: "However, on a weekday evening they could be found in Jimmy's Bar?"[/nq]
Yes. I think that "on" (or "at") would be much more common than "of", particularly in conversation.
To me, "of" seems liter
[nq:1]Just curious, could "on" replace "of" in your example for: "However, on a weekday evening they could be found in Jimmy's Bar?"[/nq]
Yes. I think that "on" (or "at") would be much more common than "of", particularly in conversation.
To me, "of" seems liter
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[nq:2]Hello: Is this "tea of an afternoon" an idiomatic expression, similar to "five o'clock tea"? Is it more AmE than BrE?[/nq]
[nq:1]I think that the relevant phrase is "of an afternoon", meaning approximately "in the afternoons", in a sentence describing a ... close friends. They worked in different nearby towns. However, of a weekday evening they could be found in Jimmy's Bar.[/nq]
Tha
[nq:1]I think that the relevant phrase is "of an afternoon", meaning approximately "in the afternoons", in a sentence describing a ... close friends. They worked in different nearby towns. However, of a weekday evening they could be found in Jimmy's Bar.[/nq]
Tha
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[nq:2]I think that the relevant phrase is "of an afternoon", ... a weekday evening they could be found in Jimmy's Bar.[/nq]
[nq:1]That "of an afternoon/evening" construction is found often in the Midlands and north of England. It means that the activity referred to was fairly regular.[/nq]
"Tea of an afternoon" is not American at all. "Five o'clock tea" isn't either. Nor "four o'clock tea.
[nq:1]That "of an afternoon/evening" construction is found often in the Midlands and north of England. It means that the activity referred to was fairly regular.[/nq]
"Tea of an afternoon" is not American at all. "Five o'clock tea" isn't either. Nor "four o'clock tea.
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[nq:2]That "of an afternoon/evening" construction is found often in the Midlands and north of England. It means that the activity referred to was fairly regular.[/nq]
[nq:1]"Tea of an afternoon" is not American at all. "Five o'clock tea" isn't either. Nor "four o'clock tea." Americans don't ... to drink or eat at an employee's desk (and some not allowing conversation that wasn't about the work
[nq:1]"Tea of an afternoon" is not American at all. "Five o'clock tea" isn't either. Nor "four o'clock tea." Americans don't ... to drink or eat at an employee's desk (and some not allowing conversation that wasn't about the work
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[nq:2]"Tea of an afternoon" is not American at all. "Five ... not allowing conversation that wasn't about the work), we did.[/nq]
[nq:1]Cece, there are things in life other than work, thank goodness. I've had cups of 'tea' in America on several ... tea in tea bags. Sometimes they were made with water that was almost too hot to dip one's finger in.[/nq]
Astonishingly, the best tea I ever ha
[nq:1]Cece, there are things in life other than work, thank goodness. I've had cups of 'tea' in America on several ... tea in tea bags. Sometimes they were made with water that was almost too hot to dip one's finger in.[/nq]
Astonishingly, the best tea I ever ha
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[nq:1]Sometimes they were made with water that was almost too hot to dip one's finger in.[/nq]
ROFL!
Cheers,
Daniel.
ROFL!
Cheers,
Daniel.
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[nq:2]Sometimes they were made with water that was almost too hot to dip one's finger in.[/nq]
[nq:1]ROFL![/nq]
Thanks, Daniel. My tongue was in cheek, as usual, but I've seen quite a few American movies where "Will you have some tea?" or "Do you prefer tea?" or an equivalent was asked, both in period pieces and modern stuff. Unlike David, I've never even asked for tea in an American resta
[nq:1]ROFL![/nq]
Thanks, Daniel. My tongue was in cheek, as usual, but I've seen quite a few American movies where "Will you have some tea?" or "Do you prefer tea?" or an equivalent was asked, both in period pieces and modern stuff. Unlike David, I've never even asked for tea in an American resta
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[nq:2]"Tea of an afternoon" is not American at all. "Five ... not allowing conversation that wasn't about the work), we did.[/nq]
[nq:1]Cece, there are things in life other than work, thank goodness. I've had cups of 'tea' in America on several ... tea in tea bags. Sometimes they were made with water that was almost too hot to dip one's finger in.[/nq]
I have had near tea loose tea in a pe
[nq:1]Cece, there are things in life other than work, thank goodness. I've had cups of 'tea' in America on several ... tea in tea bags. Sometimes they were made with water that was almost too hot to dip one's finger in.[/nq]
I have had near tea loose tea in a pe
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