What is the origin of the term “Blue Plate Special?”
Meaning A set meal provided at a reduced price. Origin The phrase ‘blue plate special’ isn’t widely known here in the UK. In fact, until questions were asked about it at our bulletin board, I’d not come across it before. It is American and originated there around the start of the 20th century. Considering that the expression has been in common use in the USA for a century or so, the usual US reference sources have little to say about it. A useful first port of call when researching American colloquial expressions is Lighter’s Historical Dictionary of American Slang, but the term isn’t listed there. Webster’s Dictionary does help out by defining ‘blue plate’ as: 1. A restaurant dinner plate divided into compartments for serving several kinds of food as a single order. 2. A main course (as of meat and vegetable) served as a single menu item. Webster’s doesn’t cite an origin but there seems little reason to look further than the colour for the derivation of the phrase – blue plate special
