August 19, 2022 - Growing up in East Texas taught me about “second helpings” and “square meals”, some of which I will share with you via this article. I think that most all of you readers understand my title. However, I am not sure just what a “helping” is. So, I consulted Webster’s Dictionary. One can always depend on old Webster to know the real meaning.
Webster defines “helping” as “a portion of food served to one person”. So, the question is, “how much is a portion?” Does a teaspoon full constitute a “portion” or perhaps a “helping”? How about a tablespoon full? Does a ladle full constitute a “helping”?
So, why is it called a “helping”? It is reported by Webster that “The word is recorded as a cry of distress from the late 1,400s. The sense of “serve someone with food at a table” from the 1680s is translated from French “server” meaning “to help, stead, avail”, which then led to “helping”, meaning a “portion of food”.
OK, that nails down the phrase “helping”. How about a “square meal”? What makes a meal “square”? Seems funny that a meal would be described as “square”, doesn’t it?
Again, research was not clear on this. It is reported that the term “square meal” originated from the British Royal Navy’s practice of serving meals on square wooden plates while on ships. Such plates, known as trenchers, did exist which makes this a plausible theory.
The word “square” has many meanings, including “proper”, “honest”, and “straightforward”, and that’s the meaning of the word “square” used in “square meal”. It can also mean “a hearty and satisfying meal”.
The phrase is of United States origin. All the early citations are from America. The following reference is the oldest I have found. It is an advertisement in the Wisconsin newspaper, “The Republican Journal”, dated December of 1804 – “2 cents buys a square meal at any time of the day at the City Bakery”.
The use of “square” to mean “honest and straightforward” goes back to at least the 16th century. An example is in 1591 in Robert Greene’s Defence of Conny Catching – “For feare of trouble I was fain to try my good hap at square play.”
So, it can be said with extreme confidence that a second helping of food does make a “square meal”. Maybe we guys should purchase a few square wooden plates for our wives to use at meal time so as to assure that you do receive that “square meal” as described above. Then, let me know how it goes.
