New England boiled dinner
- noun
- /nuː ˈɪŋɡlənd ˈbɔɪld ˈdɪnər/
- US
- At the festival, they served a delicious New England boiled dinner featuring fresh cabbage and tender carrots.
Examples
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During the winter months, we often make New England boiled dinner for its comforting flavors and warmth.
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Every Sunday, our family enjoys a hearty New England boiled dinner with corned beef and vegetables.
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New England boiled dinner tonight.
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Milton liked New England boiled dinner.
Fiction book (1990)
Synonyms
A meal of corned beef cooked with cabbage, potatoes, carrots, and onions
Surface Forms
Morphology
New + England + boiled + dinner
The phrase is transparently compositional: it combines the place-name 'New England' with 'boiled' and 'dinner', so a learner who knows the constituent words will understand it refers to a boiled meal associated with the New England region. Cultural specifics (e.g. corned beef, cabbage) are not derivable from the form, but they do not prevent a B1 learner from grasping the basic, region-specific boiled-dinner meaning.
Etymology
New England boiled dinner comes from a simple kitchen habit in that region: families would boil salted or 'corned beef' with cabbage, potatoes and carrots in one pot to make a warm, filling meal. The word boiled shows how it was cooked and dinner shows it was the main meal, so the name tells you what the dish is today.