Definition

Noun: A cold meal, typically served in a pub, consisting of bread (often a crusty loaf or roll), cheese (commonly Cheddar), pickled onions, and sometimes additional items like ham, apple, or chutney, presented as separate components on a plate.

Usage

This term specifically refers to the named pub meal. It is used as a countable noun. * I'll have the ploughman's lunch and a pint of ale, please. * The pub is famous for its generous ploughman's lunch. * We ordered two ploughman's lunches to share.

Advanced Usage

• The phrase can be used metaphorically to describe any simple, rustic, or hearty meal composed of basic, separate components.
  • Our picnic was a veritable ploughman's lunch of crusty bread, local cheese, and fruit.

Variants and Related Words

• Ploughman's (noun, informal): A common shortened form used in casual conversation, especially when ordering.
  • "I'll have the ploughman's."

Synonyms

• Cold plate: A more general term for a meal of assorted cold foods.
• Pub lunch: A general term, of which a ploughman's lunch is a specific type.

Notes on Meaning

• The term evokes a traditional, rural, and simple English meal, though its modern form is a 20th-century creation for the pub trade.
• It is distinctly different from a sandwich or a salad, as the components are served deconstructed for the diner to combine as they wish.

Noun

1. a meal consisting of a sandwich of bread and cheese and a salad