# What is the British meaning of "tea and a slice"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [October 10, 2012, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-british-meaning-of-tea-and-a-slice/637349 "2012-10-10T19:49:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-british-meaning-of-tea-and-a-slice/637349/41 "2014-07-02T12:03:25Z")
For the record, I’ll happily eat bread just on its own, not even butter. I just really, really like bread. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-british-meaning-of-tea-and-a-slice/637349/42 "2014-07-02T12:46:25Z")
And why not? But if food is scarce or expensive then a slice of bread with 50 calories of fat on it will keep body and soul together longer than a slice of bread without. ---
**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-british-meaning-of-tea-and-a-slice/637349/43 "2014-07-02T19:53:24Z")
> [@Lust4Life](#): > > Its not incredibly nice, but its brittle, not soggy fried. I’ve had both of those types, they’re both fine. Of course it’s not meant to be eaten on its own, but as a part of a healthy, balanced fry-up. Especially good with beans. > [@robardin](#): > > When considering cake as a meaning, I realized I would typically speak not of a “slice” of cake but a “piece” of cake, as referenced in the colloquial expression for something very easy to do. Unless it was pound cake, which comes in a loaf. Hmm. I thought it might be toast but I couldn’t really picture buying bread by the (single) slice, but that is apparently what is (or was) done. Battenberg cakes aren’t round, but a rectangle which is highly sliceable. > [@](#): > > Anyway bread as a side with coffee or tea would get called “toast” here (fried bread also not crossing my mind), not a “slice”. That’s another thing - I assume that slice of bread is toasted. It would be very strange to consume soft sliced bread on its own, except when making a sandwich (and no, butter is not a sandwich filling, though peanut butter is). A _roll_ of bread maybe, but not sliced bread, which despite having a reputation for greatness MUST be toasted to be eaten with butter or jam. When I was young I would eat bread and butter. People I knew generally had slices of bread and butter to accompany meals. > [@njtt](#): > > I am from the south of England (Essex), and live there now. I don’t think I have ever heard the word “buttie” used IRL, just on TV and the radio. Yes, I am sure mot people round here would understand it, but they would not habitually use the word. I have never actually seen a chip buttie, or heard of anyone I know eating one, or seen one (or any other “buttie”) advertised on a menu. I associate the word “buttie” with Scotland (perhaps especially Glasgow), Liverpool, and maybe Newcastle - the urban North - but not even all of the urban North: I lived in Leeds for many years, and never ran across it in the wild there either. I am from the midlands and have ate chip butties. They’re a home-thing, though, they’re not something you’d see on a menu. A chip cob would be the equivalent on a chip-shop menu. Incidentally, the butt is the last slice of the loaf, aka the crust. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-british-meaning-of-tea-and-a-slice/637349/44 "2014-07-02T20:06:47Z")
Incidentally there’s a funny bit in _Guards! Guards!_ in which Colon (who is married) is complaining to Nobby and Carrot (who are not) about getting just beef dripping sandwiches for tea because his wife was too preoccupied with the new king. Nobby and Carrot haven’t even seen dripping for years and immediately start going on about how wonderful it is and how much they miss it, much to Colon’s annoyance. ---
**Author:** ![Grrlbrarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrlbrarian/32/4048_2.png) [@Grrlbrarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrlbrarian)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2014, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-british-meaning-of-tea-and-a-slice/637349/45 "2014-07-02T20:07:20Z")
> [@blindboyard](#): > > When I was young I would eat bread and butter. People I knew generally had slices of bread and butter to accompany meals I’m American, and especially during my childhood, we’d have un-toasted bread and butter as an accompaniment to meals. Also, if I complained of being hungry in the afternoons, my granny would often give me a slice of untoasted white bread spread with margarine and sprinkled thickly with white sugar as an afternoon snack. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2014, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-british-meaning-of-tea-and-a-slice/637349/46 "2014-07-03T10:26:06Z")
> [@blindboyard](#): > > I am from the midlands and have ate chip butties. They’re a home-thing, though, they’re not something you’d see on a menu. A chip cob would be the equivalent on a chip-shop menu. > > Incidentally, the butt is the last slice of the loaf, aka the crust. Midlander as well (Warwickshire) and we’d happily call them chip butties. I did used to work in a chippie and we didn’t sell them, they’ve always been a home thing for me. A bit like putting crisps in a sandwich, the best way to turn your sarnie awesome. We’re also getting into “what do you call a bread roll” territory here. “Batch” is the most common where I’m from, but you’ll maybe hear “bap” as well. “Baps” is also a quality term for breasts, probably because they look like bread rolls under a jumper. Oh and we called the crust the “ender” in my home. I’ve no idea if this is due to where my parents are from (Yorkshire and Glasgow) or just because we were stupidly literal. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2014, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-british-meaning-of-tea-and-a-slice/637349/47 "2014-07-03T10:57:28Z")
One of my local chippies in Bristol advertises chip butties, by name.It’s not a strict North-South divide, though it is greasy goodness. ---
**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2014, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-british-meaning-of-tea-and-a-slice/637349/48 "2014-07-03T19:04:48Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > Midlander as well (Warwickshire) and we’d happily call them chip butties. I did used to work in a chippie and we didn’t sell them, they’ve always been a home thing for me. A bit like putting crisps in a sandwich, the best way to turn your sarnie awesome. Did you sell chip cobs in that chippy, westerner? Buttie does seem to refer only to chips and maybe bacon, but not other sarnies. No such thing as a cheese butty. > [@](#): > > We’re also getting into “what do you call a bread roll” territory here. “Batch” is the most common where I’m from, but you’ll maybe hear “bap” as well. “Baps” is also a quality term for breasts, probably because they look like bread rolls under a jumper. It always seems to be cobs around here if it’s sold with something in it, like chips or sausages. Otherwise, [baps](http://youtu.be/iZt9c91QW1M) are bigger than buns or rolls, I think. > [@](#): > > Oh and we called the crust the “ender” in my home. I’ve no idea if this is due to where my parents are from (Yorkshire and Glasgow) or just because we were stupidly literal. Nothing wrong with literal. ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-british-meaning-of-tea-and-a-slice/637349/49 "2014-07-04T04:26:26Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > … > Oh and we called the crust the “ender” in my home. I’ve no idea if this is due to where my parents are from (Yorkshire and Glasgow) or just because we were stupidly literal. Growing up in Glasgow, we called the end bits of a loaf the “outsiders”. I think I am your equal in ‘stupidly literal’. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-british-meaning-of-tea-and-a-slice/637349/50 "2014-07-04T08:35:50Z")
> [@blindboyard](#): > > Did you sell chip cobs in that chippy, westerner? Buttie does seem to refer only to chips and maybe bacon, but not other sarnies. No such thing as a cheese butty. Nope, no selling of chips in bread at all. What was weird is that we sold potato scallops and on several occasions people asked for “scallop and chips”. That was a portion of chips with an additional deep fried large wedge of battered potato. I guess some people really, really like fried potato. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2014, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-british-meaning-of-tea-and-a-slice/637349/51 "2014-07-04T23:47:04Z")
> [@blindboyard](#): > > Buttie does seem to refer only to chips and maybe bacon, but not other sarnies. No such thing as a cheese butty. I have certainly heard “jam buttie” and “bacon buttie” (even though they are not part of my local dialect). I think “cheese buttie” is probably perfectly cromulent for those who would regularly use “buttie” at all. As i understand it, the word just means “buttered sandwich”. (Of course, all British sandwiches, unlike American ones, are buttered, although the butter might be margarine or, rarely, peanut butter.) ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2014, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-british-meaning-of-tea-and-a-slice/637349/52 "2014-07-05T19:50:40Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > …Oh and we called the crust the “ender” in my home. … > [@Celyn](#): > > Growing up in Glasgow, we called the end bits of a loaf the “outsiders”. … Now I’m curious if there are similar variations in what the end bits of a loaf are called in the USA. (In my family we called those pieces the “heels.”) ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2014, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-british-meaning-of-tea-and-a-slice/637349/53 "2014-07-05T20:02:47Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Now I’m curious if there are similar variations in what the end bits of a loaf are called in the USA. (In my family we called those pieces the “heels.”) The end bits were the “heels” in my Scottish upbringing. ---
**Author:** ![Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boulter_s_Canary)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2014, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-british-meaning-of-tea-and-a-slice/637349/54 "2014-07-05T20:06:21Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > I am from the south of England (Essex), and live there now. I don’t think I have ever heard the word “buttie” used IRL, just on TV and the radio. Yes, I am sure mot people round here would understand it, but they would not habitually use the word. I have never actually seen a chip buttie, or heard of anyone I know eating one, or seen one (or any other “buttie”) advertised on a menu. I associate the word “buttie” with Scotland (perhaps especially Glasgow), Liverpool, and maybe Newcastle - the urban North - but not even all of the urban North: I lived in Leeds for many years, and never ran across it in the wild there either. I’m from south London and now live in Kent and ‘buttie’ is used in both places. In fact a kebab shop near me sells them (though in pitta rather than traditional bread). ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2014, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-british-meaning-of-tea-and-a-slice/637349/55 "2014-07-05T20:14:44Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > The end bits were the “heels” in my Scottish upbringing. Interesting; my people were from the (American) midwest and the family tree does include some immigrants from Scotland. It could be that’s where our usage originated. ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2014, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-british-meaning-of-tea-and-a-slice/637349/56 "2014-07-06T17:35:04Z")
Just to add to the fun, of course, a “jam sandwich” might also refer to a police car. 🙂 Or perhaps “jam butty” in places where they say “butty”. (Actually, that doesn’t really work any more, because the police cars changed their paintwork/design/whatever the hell it’s called. Livery?) ---
**Author:** ![TwoDeadBeatles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce7236/32.png) [@TwoDeadBeatles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoDeadBeatles)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-british-meaning-of-tea-and-a-slice/637349/57 "2021-09-25T15:04:16Z")
A George Orwell reference in a Pink Floyd song? Makes sense to me. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-british-meaning-of-tea-and-a-slice/637349/58 "2021-09-25T20:46:16Z")
Allow me to contribute again to this zombie thread: There was an episode of _ **You Are What You Eat** _ in which a British gentleman of South Asian origin had a wife who regularly cooked good, healthy, mostly vegetarian food for him. While commuting to work, however, he feasted on bacon butties and tea with milk and sugar. (He also had assorted goodies stashed in a chained fridge inside the garage.) His wife couldn’t figure out why he was getting so fat, and when she learned the reason she was livid! ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-british-meaning-of-tea-and-a-slice/637349/59 "2021-09-25T21:03:10Z")
“bacon buttie” is one of the last pieces of British dialect that really threw me for a loop reading British novels. Mostly, i know the relevant vocabulary, but i was in my forties before i can’t across that expression. I eventually worked it out from context. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-british-meaning-of-tea-and-a-slice/637349.md?page=2)