afternoon tea
9
1.7
- noun
- /ˌɑːftəˈnuːn tiː/
- UK
:
té de la tarde
- Yesterday, they came over for afternoon tea and enjoyed sandwiches and scones.
- afternoon tea served
- enjoying afternoon tea
- traditional afternoon tea
This is from Lucy came to the afternoon tea.
- This is from Lucy came to the afternoon tea.
- So we're back at the hotel now on the rooftop and we realized they had like an English breakfast, English afternoon tea, English afternoon tea.
Examples
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I invited you to afternoon tea.
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Hi, I'm Toby, I'm Micah, and we have just had afternoon tea at the Hilton Hotel in Nottingham in England for my birthday.
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Yesterday, they came over for afternoon tea.
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You like your afternoon tea sent up to your room?
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Maybe I could have them over for afternoon tea.
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The traditional "Afternoon Tea" service is also available every day beginning at 2:00.
Blog text (14) -
We had a wonderful afternoon tea on the grass with smiles and laughs all around.
Academic text (2007) -
Guests are invited to enjoy an elegant afternoon tea at 3 p.m., preceded by a program of music and songs.
Blog text (26) -
Then I went to H&M and I got a cosy jumper because I'm going for afternoon tea with my girls tomorrow to Saint Andrews.
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In Pittenweem, we met up with Di from Woollie Wanderings for a little afternoon tea.
Blog text (21)
Synonyms
194
1.0
A light afternoon meal with sandwiches, cakes, and a hot drink
1
6.3
A small pleasant treat or activity you enjoy in the afternoon
1
1.6
A small snack in the afternoon like tea and cookies
How Filling
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and transparently built from 'afternoon' (the time of day) and 'tea' (the drink or light meal), so a learner who knows both words can infer a tea taken in the afternoon — typically a light meal with tea and snacks. There is a mild cultural nuance (in UK English 'tea' can mean a light meal), but the basic concept is compositional and cross-linguistically recognizable, making it accessible to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Afternoon tea may come from one popular story about the Duchess of Bedford, who in the 1800s began taking a small plate of tea, cakes and sandwiches in the late afternoon because she felt hungry between lunch and a late dinner. The name is literal: afternoon for the time and tea for the drink, so today afternoon tea means 'a light meal in the afternoon with tea and small cakes or sandwiches'.