Elevenses

What it is

By the clock, elevenses sits between breakfast and the midday meal, most often near eleven in the morning. It is not a full meal. A cup of tea or coffee and a biscuit will do in some households, while elsewhere the plate is heartier. The word itself points to the hour, and the same trick of naming a snack after the time it is eaten appears in several languages, from the Hungarian tízórai to the Dutch tienuurtje. What people call it, and when they sit down to it, changes from country to country.

Around the world

In Chile the old name las once survives, but the meal has drifted towards late afternoon and can stand in for dinner, which national food surveys reflect. Colombia keeps onces in the evening and a morning version called medias nueves. Bolivia has its salteñadas, built around the salteña pastry. Spain and the Basque Country take a bite mid-morning, Germany and Poland and Slovakia lean on a second breakfast or a light tenth-hour snack, and Australia and New Zealand say morning tea.

At work and school

The break is often written into the day rather than chosen. Workplaces in Australia and New Zealand sometimes fix morning tea in agreements, and schools give pupils a short pause, called little lunch in New Zealand. Shearers, farmers and tradespeople there speak of smoko, a word that began with smoking but is now used by anyone stopping for a cup. Israeli schools serve arukhat eser after the second lesson. Dutch primary pupils watch a ten o'clock news bulletin, then eat fruit or a small snack outside.

Food and drink

What lands on the table depends on the place. British and Swedish breaks lean on tea or coffee with biscuits or a light sandwich. Switzerland puts its Znüni at nine, and the name holds even when the snack arrives later. Slovak desiata is kept deliberately light, fruit or a sandwich, so that lunch is not spoiled. Germans may take warm filled rolls or cold meats. Belgian children carry cookies, fruit, juice or chocolate milk from home. Chileans compare la once to a slighter form of British high tea.

Today and change

Some versions are fading. In Indian towns and cities the ten o'clock tea has grown rarer, though it holds on in the countryside among agricultural and manual workers. Other versions have quietly changed shape: the Chilean once moved into the evening, and in the United States the first decades of the nineteenth century saw whiskey at that hour, long before the coffee break took its place. The old hour-names persist even when the clock moves, as Swiss families show by calling any mid-morning snack Znüni.

How Elevenses is kept

Someone calls a halt to work or lessons. A drink is made, tea, coffee, chocolate milk or juice, and a small amount of food is shared: biscuits, fruit, a pastry, a sandwich, or something warm and savoury, depending on the place. The pause lasts a short while. In school it falls in a fixed slot on the timetable; at work it may be a scheduled stop or an informal gathering. In Australia and New Zealand, teams use the same moment for birthdays, farewells and retirements, or simply to sit together.

When and where

Most countries place it in the late morning, near eleven o'clock, though the clock varies: nine or half past nine in Switzerland and Germany, ten in Slovakia, Poland, the Netherlands and Israel, half past ten in Australia and New Zealand. Chile and Colombia have shifted their versions towards the afternoon or evening.

The habit is strongest in Britain, Australia, New Zealand and parts of northern and central Europe, and it appears in schools and workplaces in Israel and the Netherlands. In Latin America it takes different names and hours in Chile, Colombia and Bolivia. In India it survives mainly in rural areas and among people doing physical work.

What Elevenses means

The custom carries little ceremony, which is part of its point. It is a shared pause, a way of marking the middle of a working morning and of making room for company. In offices and schools it becomes a social slot, used for welcoming a new colleague or saying goodbye to one. Naming the hour in the local language ties the break to the shape of the day itself, breakfast behind, the main meal ahead.

Questions people ask about Elevenses

See also

Caffè sospesoAn anonymous gift of a paid cup of coffee for a stranger in needTea cultureHow tea is prepared, shared and served, from Chinese tea houses to Tibetan butter teaCaffèItaly's daily coffee habit: espresso taken standing at the bar, and moka coffee at homeKopitiamA neighbourhood coffee shop where Southeast Asians share meals, drinks and news

Good reading and sources

• Elevenses on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.