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Banyan day

noun

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    In British naval tradition, a day of the week when galley kitchens served no meat on board ship. UK, dated, idiomatic

    "This was a favourable circumstance in one respect to myself and the ship's company, for as Tuesday is a sumptuous day in point of allowance in the navy, beef and pudding being the prescribed fare for dinner, we by this accident feasted two days together; whereas had it occurred on a Monday, Wednesday, or Friday, two successive banyan (or starvation) days would have been our dismal portion."

  2. 2
    A picnic or cookout for the ship's crew. UK, idiomatic

Etymology

According to the OED, the term is borrowed from the Banyans in the East Indies, a caste that ate nothing that had life.

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