mother's meeting
Preserved but no longer current.
A meeting of mothers held periodically in connexion with some church or denomination, at which the women can get advice or religious instruction, drink tea, gossip, and sometimes do a little needle- work. Hence, applied facetiously to any gossiping group of people — men, as well as women.
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 “mother's meeting” mean?
A meeting of mothers held periodically in connexion with some church or denomination, at which the women can get advice or religious instruction, drink tea, gossip, and sometimes do a little needle- work. Hence, applied facetiously to any gossiping group of people — men, as well as women.
Is “mother's meeting” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.