tightener

English

Etymology

tighten +‎ -er. Referring to a meal, suggests the tightening of one's belt around the expanding waistline.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈtaɪtn̩ɚ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈtaɪtn̩ə/
• Hyphenation: tight‧en‧er

Noun

tightener (plural tighteners)

1. Something used to tighten.
2. (UK, slang, archaic) A large meal; a feast or blowout.
   • 184?, Henry Mayhew, London Labour and the London Poor

     One proposed going to Hungerford-market to do a feed on decayed shrimps or other offal laying about the market; another proposed going to Covent-garden to do a 'tightener' of rotten oranges, to which I was humorously invited; […]

   • 1876, William Green, Charles Hindley, The Life and Adventures of a Cheap Jack, page 55:

     Now a belt like this is a great saving to a man inasmuch as he can save many a meal by wearing it; all you have to do if you want to save a meal is to buckle in a hole or two tighter, and you will feel as if you have had a tightener and will not miss your dinner for that day.

References

• John Camden Hotten (1873) The Slang Dictionary

Anagrams

• Hettinger, retighten, tethering