trimmings
Preserved but no longer current.
The necessary adjuncts to anything cooked, but specially applied to a boiled leg of mutton, as turnips, potatoes, bread, beer, salt, &c. Bets are frequently made for a leg of mutton and TRIMMINGS. Or one person will forfeit the mutton if another will "stand the TRIMMINGS." It is generally a supper feast, held in a public-house, and the rule is for the landlord to charge as TRIMMINGS everything, except the mutton, placed on the table previous to the removal of the cloth.
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 “trimmings” mean?
The necessary adjuncts to anything cooked, but specially applied to a boiled leg of mutton, as turnips, potatoes, bread, beer, salt, &c. Bets are frequently made for a leg of mutton and TRIMMINGS. Or one person will forfeit the mutton if another will "stand the TRIMMINGS." It is generally a supper feast, held in a public-house, and the rule is for the landlord to charge as TRIMMINGS everything, except the mutton, placed on the table previous to the removal of the cloth.
Is “trimmings” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.