bubble and squeak
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Cold boiled potatoes and greens fried up together, sometimes with bits of cold meat as well. They first bubbled in water when boiled, and afterwards hissed or squeaked in the frying-pan.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “bubble and squeak” mean?
Cold boiled potatoes and greens fried up together, sometimes with bits of cold meat as well. They first bubbled in water when boiled, and afterwards hissed or squeaked in the frying-pan.
Is “bubble and squeak” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.