I am invited to brunch Sunday at noon. There's no question in my mind that this is indeed brunch because of the arranged time. However, another guest insists that it's lunch because of the arranged time. Before we debate this any further, let's check with the authority.
According to Webster brunch is "the late first meal of the day that takes the place of both breakfast and lunch". The word, as we all know, is taken from the first letters of breakfast and the last letters of lunch. Personally, I love these coined combination words when they really are descriptive and fill a lexical gap. Smog and frenemy are two others I can think of offhand. The love dissipates though when the tabloids and entertainment TV use them to refer to the latest hot celebrity couple. If you've never heard of Brangelina you must have been residing in another galaxy.
Back to brunch. It does seem that brunch is restricted to a meal only on weekends, especially Sunday. During the work week we have lunch noonish. No one ever tells their colleagues they're off to brunch. And if we go out around eleven, we say it's an early lunch. Most offices have a lunch hour from 12 to 1 -- a mere sixty minutes to scarf down a deli sandwich, pick up a birthday card and drop off the dry cleaning.
Thus it would appear that brunch has been relegated to the more relaxing Sundays when we can sip a mimosa and calmly wait for the chef to Benedict the eggs and French the toast.
Meanwhile, I am indeed going to brunch on Sunday and I do hope the other guest comes for lunch. What we call it isn't important. Let's eat!
1 comment:
I'm wondering what the boss would say if I said I was going out for Brunch! Better stick to "an early lunch" for those Mon thru Fri mid-day meals.
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