how to understand the word "coffee" in the phrase .....

Welcome to A2K Kerk

No they're not restricted to drinking coffee. The implication is that they will meet in a place that serves coffee - sort of a neutral venue where neither person is likely to bump into work colleagues, friends or families and can hav e an uninterrupted conversation of a personal nature.

Yes, welcome, kerk!

There is also an indication that the beverages will not be alcoholic -- that only "soft drinks" will be consumed at the meeting.

If the meeting were to be in a bar, the phrasing would probably be "meet over drinks" -- never mind that "drinks" can be non-alcoholic. In this connotation, to meet over drinks means to meet in a place that serves alcohol, and to consume alcohol during the talk.

"Meet over coffee" also has certain connotations about the time of day. "Meet for lunch" would be explicitly around noon or so, "meet for breakfast" would be morning, "meet for dinner" would be early evening, "meet for drinks" would usually be later evening to night time.

Meeting for coffee usually means to meet at a time of day that is not usually associated with having a meal -- I'd say prime "coffee" time is 2PM to 6PM, especially in the business world; for university students, say, "coffee" time is pretty much any time and it has more to do with "meet at a public venue but without having a full meal."

Do you get the feeling the world is tiny when we all agree on the subtle nuances of an idiom like 'meet over coffee'?

:-D

In fact, I saw that you were the last post and came here expecting to see something like, "What on earth are you talking about, in civilized nations we only have coffee between 9 AM and noon." ;-)

so true

Well it's true - but I didn't say it coz it's so obvious!

9.00 am till noon would be smoko or morning tea time

Dad - you're so twentieth century :wink:

I would describe myself as rural hinge, damn proud of it too!

Flowing beards are all the go way up in "Ironbark"

Maybe we should talk about it over coffee. At mornos?

coffee
ad from the over fiefties club
---------------------------------
OVER FIFTIES CLUB

The Over Fifties club meet for Coffee from 2pm every Monday afternoon and then have a meeting at 2.45pm led by Over Sixties Secretary C Daldry
-----------------------------------

where's the coffee ?

Is there an over seventies club?
Can its members be members of
the over sixties and over fifties clubs?
No wonder people don't live much past 100,
the membership fees must kill them.

coffee


what a way to go !
can't pay the club fees anymore - does one get a 'going-away-present' ?
hbg

coffee
so how do i shorten that 'quote frame' ; it's running away from me and has wrapped itself around the computer .
HEEELP !
hbg

You can't HB - it's that way because of the big image - nuffin you did.