to dine in the coach
Preserved but no longer current.
In the captain's private room. The coach or couch of one of the old, large-sized men-of-war was a small apartment near the stern, the floor being formed of the aftmost part of the quarter- deck, and the roof by the poop.
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 “to dine in the coach” mean?
In the captain's private room. The coach or couch of one of the old, large-sized men-of-war was a small apartment near the stern, the floor being formed of the aftmost part of the quarter- deck, and the roof by the poop.
Is “to dine in the coach” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.