three-martini lunch
1
8.8
- noun
- /θriː mɑːrˈtiːni lʌnʧ/
- Archaic
:
almuerzo de tres martinis
- The executives enjoyed a three-martini lunch to discuss the new project in a more informal setting.
Examples
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During a three-martini lunch, business deals were often made over drinks and relaxed conversations.
-
As Houlihan put it, "He would say, 'Those executives downtown have their three martini lunches and put it on their expense accounts.'
Academic text (2011) -
Every table is occupied: Ivy League graduates solving the world's problems over three-martini lunches on expense accounts.
Fiction book (2000) -
A typical three-martini lunch allows colleagues to unwind and bond while enjoying their meal.
Surface Forms
Morphology
three-martini + lunch
The phrase is compositionally built from 'three' + 'martini' + 'lunch' so a learner who knows those words can readily infer it refers to a lunch at which three martinis are consumed. The additional connotation of indulgence or a leisurely/business-style meal is a pragmatic extension but does not prevent the core meaning being transparently derivable from the constituents.
Etymology
Three-martini lunch comes from a time when business people often had a long lunch and drank several martini cocktails—sometimes as many as three. The image of drinking three drinks at midday makes the idea of a relaxed, indulgent meal clear, so the phrase means 'a leisurely, often indulgent business lunch'.