soul cakes
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Cakes formerly given in Staffordshire, Cheshire, and elsewhere on All Souls* Day, to the poor who go a-souling, i.e. begging for soul cakes.
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 “soul cakes” mean?
Cakes formerly given in Staffordshire, Cheshire, and elsewhere on All Souls* Day, to the poor who go a-souling, i.e. begging for soul cakes.
Is “soul cakes” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.