Kettner's Book of the Table

Every food on the Victorian table gets its history, its etymology and a strong opinion — the wittiest cookery book of 1877, written in secret by a Times leader-writer and named for London's most fashionable restaurant.

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Dinner

There are two theories as to what this means.

The first maintains that dinner is to déjeûner what priest is to presbyter; and we all know by this time that presbyter is but priest writ large. Dinner, therefore, according to this view is breakfast.

The other theory is that it is a contraction for dixième heure, ten o'clock, the ancient time of dining. There is an old French rhyme to this effect :- Lever à six, diner à dix, Souper à six, coucher à dix, Vous feront vivre dix fois dix.

It is evident that we are fast returning to the ancient Dory dinner-hour. A fashionable dinner is at full tide not far from ten o'clock-only it is now ten at night instead of, as formerly, ten in the morning.

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