"Eaten his dinners"?

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Elsa T. S. Vieira - 05 Dec 2003 16:47 GMT

Hello again, everyone - you've been so helpful I had to come back ;-)

I'm still translating this book set in the twenties. See if anyone can help
me here, with the meaning of the expression between "":

(quote)
He had intended to be a barrister, had "eaten his dinners", and taken on the
job of temporary master only to tide him over a lean period.
(unquote)

The expression is between quotation marks in the original, so I assume it's
some kind of phrase with a specific meaning, non-food related...

Thanks in advance!

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Elsa T. S. Vieira

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Einde O'Callaghan - 05 Dec 2003 21:10 GMT

> Hello again, everyone - you've been so helpful I had to come back ;-)
>
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> The expression is between quotation marks in the original, so I assume it's
> some kind of phrase with a specific meaning, non-food related...

To become a barrister in England isn't just simply a question of
receiving the training, it's also a question of joining an elite clique.
This involves participating in a large number of expensive formal
dinners at the Inns of Court. So you can say that a qualified barrister
"has eaten his dinners". I suppose it was (or is it still "is"?) one way
of keeping the riff-raff out of the profession.

Regards, Einde O'Callaghan

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Discussion Groups / ESL Teaching / December 2003

"Eaten his dinners"?