spitalfields’ breakfast
Preserved but no longer current.
At the East-end of London this is understood as consisting of a tight necktie and a short pipe. Amongst workmen it is usual to tighten the apron string when no dinner is at hand. Hunters and trappers always take in their belts when supplies are short. "An Irishman’s dinner" is a low East-end term, and means a smoke and a visit to the urinal. Sometimes the phrase is, "I’ll go out and count the railings," i.e., the park or area railings, mental instead of maxillary exercise.
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
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 “spitalfields’ breakfast” mean?
At the East-end of London this is understood as consisting of a tight necktie and a short pipe. Amongst workmen it is usual to tighten the apron string when no dinner is at hand. Hunters and trappers always take in their belts when supplies are short. "An Irishman’s dinner" is a low East-end term, and means a smoke and a visit to the urinal. Sometimes the phrase is, "I’ll go out and count the railings," i.e., the park or area railings, mental instead of maxillary exercise.
Is “spitalfields’ breakfast” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.