Definition

1. Noun:
   • A wooden board or platter: A flat piece of wood, historically used for serving or carving food.
   • A person who digs trenches: Someone whose job is to dig long, narrow ditches, typically for drainage, irrigation, or military purposes.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Platter):
  • The roast was brought to the table on a large wooden trencher.
  • In medieval times, a trencher was often a stale piece of bread used as a plate.
• Noun (Person):
  • The army hired dozens of trenchers to dig defensive positions.
  • He worked as a trencher for a construction company, laying drainage pipes.

Advanced Usage

• "Trencher companion": (Archaic) A table companion; someone you share a meal with.
  • He was not just a colleague but a trusted trencher companion.
• "Trencher cap": Refers to a type of academic cap (mortarboard), drawing a loose analogy from the flat, board-like shape.
  • The graduates tossed their trencher caps into the air.

Variants and Related Words

• Trencherman (n): A person who eats heartily; a good eater.
  • He was known as a formidable trencherman at the family dinners.
• Trench (n/v): The ditch that is dug; to dig such a ditch.
  • They dug a trench around the camp.

Synonyms

• Platter or Board (for the serving item).
• Ditch digger or Laborer (for the person).

Related Phrases

• To be a good trencherman: To have a hearty appetite.
  • Despite his slim build, he is a remarkably good trencherman.

Related Idioms

• "To eat someone out of house and home": This idiom relates to the concept of a hearty "trencherman" who consumes a lot.
  • Their teenage son, a true trencherman, is eating them out of house and home.

Noun

1. a wooden board or platter on which food is served or carved
2. someone who digs trenches