porridge

Etymology

Variant of pottage (“thick soup or stew”), influenced by porray (“stew of leeks”). The "prison sentence" sense comes from the British tradition of serving prisoners porridge for breakfast.

noun

  1. A dish made of grain or legumes, milk and/or water, heated and stirred until thick and typically eaten for breakfast.
    1. (chiefly Britain) Oatmeal porridge.
    2. (Malaysia, Singapore) Rice porridge; congee.
  2. (Britain, slang, uncountable) A prison sentence.
    Just do your porridge and keep your head down.
  3. (rare) A type of thick soup or stew, especially thickened with barley.

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