kitchen physic
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Food, good meat roasted or boiled. A little kitchen physic will set him up; he has more need of a cook than a doctor.
Era: ca. 1811 (Georgian)
Where it’s used:
Origin
British & Irish English
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Grose’s Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811 edition, public domain; Project Gutenberg #5402, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “kitchen physic” mean?
Food, good meat roasted or boiled. A little kitchen physic will set him up; he has more need of a cook than a doctor.
Is “kitchen physic” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.