bubble-and-squeak
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
A dish composed of pieces of cold roast or boiled meat and greens, afterwards fried, which have thus first BUBBLED in the pot, and then SQUEAKED or hissed in the pan.
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Where it’s used:
Origin
British & Irish English
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “bubble-and-squeak” mean?
A dish composed of pieces of cold roast or boiled meat and greens, afterwards fried, which have thus first BUBBLED in the pot, and then SQUEAKED or hissed in the 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.