"Eaten his dinners"???

[Elsa T. S. Vieira]

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!

--
Elsa T. S. Vieira

[Peter Duncanson]

On Fri, 5 Dec 2003 16:46:42 -0000, "Elsa T. S. Vieira" <els...@netvisao.pt>
wrote:

Yes it has a specific meaning, and surprisingly, it is food related.

It is explained in Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrister

--
Peter Duncanson
UK
(posting from a.e.u)

[Don Phillipson]

"Elsa T. S. Vieira" <els...@netvisao.pt> wrote in message
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> (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)

This is simply English lawyers' jargon. In order to
qualify as a barrister (courtroom advocate, as distinct
from an office llawyer = solicitor) an individual had to
apprentice in one of the London "Inns of Court" for a
certain period theoretically monitored by his formally dining
there so many times, viz. eating his dinners.

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs (Ottawa, Canada)

[Roberto Cucci]

If I remember correctly, the process of becoming a UK Barrister still
involves a traditional attendance at several compulsory dinners at the Inns
of Court in London, building solidarity within the legal profession, as part
of being "called to the bar." Hopefully someone with a British legal
background can fill you in more exactly.

"Elsa T. S. Vieira" <els...@netvisao.pt> wrote in message
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