# Get (eat) your breakfast



## Roymalika

Today in the morning, when I started getting ready to go to school, my mum said: Get your breakfast first. (she meant to say: eat/have your breakfast first, and then start getting ready.)

Is it idiomatic to say "get" meaning eat?


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## london calling

It sounds weird to my BE ears. We don't use 'get' that way. It may be OK in AE.


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## Keith Bradford

In Britain, to *get *breakfast means to* cook/prepare *it.


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## Roymalika

Keith Bradford said:


> In Britain, to *get *breakfast means to* cook/prepare *it.


would you use it this way?

A: Where is your mother?
B: She is getting (cooking) breakfast in the kitchen.


My friend and I are in the office. I offer him my breakfast and ask him to eat from it. He asks: Did your wife got (cooked) it?
I say: No, my mother got it. She gets breakfast for me every day.


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## dojibear

Roymalika said:


> Is it idiomatic to say "get" meaning eat?


In AE "get breakfast" means "eat breakfast", not "prepare breakfast". 

Of course, that may be the same person. So it may mean to do both. 

But if I am a guest at a hotel, I "get breakfast". The cook "gets breakfast ready" for me.



Keith Bradford said:


> In Britain, to *get *breakfast means to* cook/prepare *it.


Yet another AE/BE difference! At some point we'll have to resort to sign language.


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## Keith Bradford

dojibear said:


> ... Yet another AE/BE difference! At some point we'll have to resort to sign language.



Yup.  10,000 differences already, I've heard.


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## Hermione Golightly

I must have become Americanised 
'Get your breakfast first!' could certainly mean 'Have your breakfast first!'
'Get your own breakfast!' would mean cook or prepare it for yourself.
'Eat your breakfast first' is rather unlikely unless there was a special context, such as having breakfast before putting your wedding dress on in case you spill something on it.


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## ewie

> would you use it this way?
> 
> A: Where is your mother?
> B: She is getting (cooking) breakfast in the kitchen.


I (personally) would be extremely unlikely to use it like that.
A: _Where's your mother?_
B: _She's in the kitchen making breakfast._


> would you use it this way?
> 
> My friend and I are in the office. I offer him my breakfast and ask him to eat from it. He asks: Did your wife got  (cooked) get/cook it?
> I say: No, my mother got it. She gets breakfast for me every day.


Definitely not.
_Did your wife make it?
No, my mother made it. She makes/does it for me every day._


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## Roymalika

ewie said:


> I (personally) would be extremely unlikely to use it like that.
> A: _Where's your mother?_
> B: _She's in the kitchen making breakfast._
> 
> Definitely not.
> _Did your wife make it?
> No, my mother made it. She makes/does it for me every day._


Thanks. But Keith said 'get' breakfast in BE means 'cook/prepare'. I have simply replaced 'prepare/cook' with "get" in both examples.
I wonder how in BE 'get' meaning 'eat' would be used.


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## Chasint

This thread will become very confusing. May I suggest that you open two distinct threads; one for American English and one for British English? Clearly the differences are considerable.


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## ewie

Roymalika said:


> How would you expect to use 'get' meaning 'eat' in BE?


I wouldn't. _Get_ doesn't mean 'eat' or 'prepare/cook/make' to me.
If I said (like Hermione in post #7) _Get your own breakfast!_ it would mean 'acquire', and I'd only say it if someone was trying to steal my breakfast.  By the same token I'd say _Get your own ice-cream!_ or _Get your own glass of water!_


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## velisarius

_Today my mother said "*Get* your breakfast* down you* first, then you can start getting ready." _(Colloquial, inelegant)


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## london calling

Keith Bradford said:


> In Britain, to *get *breakfast means to* cook/prepare *it.


Exactly. So in BE the sentence means Roy's mum is telling him to prepare his breakfast himself, while in actual fact she's obviously telling him to have/eat his the breakfast she's prepared for him.


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## Keith Bradford

Roymalika said:


> would you use it this way?
> 
> A: Where is your mother?
> B: She is getting (cooking) breakfast in the kitchen.


Yes.


> My friend and I are in the office. I offer him my breakfast and ask him to eat from it. He asks: Did your wife got (cooked) it?
> I say: No, my mother got it. She gets breakfast for me every day.


No.
_He asks: Did your wife make this?
I say: No, my mother made it. She makes/cooks/prepares breakfast for me every day._

The choice between *make/cook/prepare* depends entirely on the dish.  You *make *porridge and chapattis, you *cook *bacon and eggs, you *prepare *cereal and toast.


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## Roymalika

Keith Bradford said:


> No.
> _He asks: Did your wife make this?
> I say: No, my mother made it. She makes/cooks/prepares breakfast for me every day._


You said in #2 that get breakfast means "cook/prepare" it,
Why doesn't this example work? (I've simply replaced "cook/prepare" with "get" here also like the first example.)


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## Keith Bradford

What _*was *_this breakfast?  What is the name of the dish?  Without that extra context we can't give you a definite answer.

But in any case, "Did your wife got (cooked) it?" is grammatically wrong.


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## Roymalika

Keith Bradford said:


> What _*was *_this breakfast? What is the name of the dish? Without that extra context we can't give you a definite answer.


The breakfast was two _parathas_ and omelette, and one cup of tea.


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## heypresto

In that case, this would be the most likely:

_He asks: Did your wife *make *this?
I say: No, my mother *made *it. She *makes *it for me every day._


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## Roymalika

Keith Bradford said:


> What _*was *_this breakfast?  What is the name of the dish?  Without that extra context we can't give you a definite answer.
> 
> But in any case, "Did your wife got (cooked) it?" is grammatically wrong.





heypresto said:


> In that case, this would be the most likely:
> 
> _He asks: Did your wife *make *this?
> I say: No, my mother *made *it. She *makes *it for me every day._


I want to know when I can replace  'cook/prepare breakfast' with 'get breakfast'.  Can you guide me please?


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## heypresto

Like Keith Bradford said in post #3, I would happily say to _get_ breakfast means to _cook/prepare_ it. But others evidently have different ideas. You probably won't get one definitively 'correct' answer.



And then there is a difference between AE and BE. Which language are you interested in?


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## Roymalika

heypresto said:


> And then there is a difference between AE and BE. Which language are you interested in?


British English.


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## Keith Bradford

*Get *breakfast in BE means *go into the kitchen and bring breakfast here to eat*.

So you won't ask "did your mother get this?" because that's not what you're interested in.  You'd ask "_Did your mother make this?"_.  In the case of an omelette you might well ask "_Did your mother cook this_?"  As for parathas, she probably cooks these herself, so _make _or _cook _is OK.


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## Roymalika

Keith Bradford said:


> *Get *breakfast in BE means *go into the kitchen and bring breakfast here to eat*.


 In post#3 above, you said something entirely different.



> In Britain, to *get *breakfast means to* cook/prepare *it.


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## london calling

Roymalika said:


> British English.


As I said :


london calling said:


> Exactly. So in BE the sentence means Roy's mum is telling him to prepare his breakfast himself, while in actual fact she's obviously telling him to have/eat his the breakfast she's prepared for him.


I speak BE.


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## Keith Bradford

Roymalika, the best thing you can do is to forget the word "get" entirely.  It's a nasty, ugly little stop-gap of a word with hundreds of different meanings, and I mentioned two of them in my two posts, as you spotted.  The point is that *"get" gives us no real information* on how that breakfast came to be on the table.  Did mother buy it from the corner shop, cook it, prepare it, steal it from the neighbours, order it from Amazon, take it out of the oven, out of the fridge, make it herself or heat up a ready-made package...?  *We don't know*, because "get" simply means she went away and came back with breakfast. And Americans don't even agree with that statement.

You can speak better English than that - don't be satisfied with "get".


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## Chasint

In my BE world.

Someone *makes* breakfast or *cooks* breakfast.

People *eat* breakfast or *have* breakfast.

*Examples*

Husband: It's my turn to make breafast. What would you like?
Wife: I really feel like having a traditional English breakfast today.

..............................

Wife: Where shall we eat breakfast today?
Husband: They cook a great breakfast at the hotel. Let's eat there.

..............................

We would never *get *breakfast unless it had already been cooked somewhere else and we were going to *collect* it and return with it. Unless of course we are imitating the way Americans say it.


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## Myridon

Keith Bradford said:


> *Get *breakfast in BE means *go into the kitchen and bring breakfast here to eat*.


If the kitchen currently has raw eggs in it, does your mother bring you raw eggs or do you expect that she will cook them when you say "Get my breakfast." or do you have to say "Get my breakfast and make sure you cook it first."


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## Chasint

Myridon said:


> If the kitchen currently has raw eggs in it, does your mother bring you raw eggs or do you expect that she will cook them when you say "Get my breakfast." or do you have to say "Get my breakfast and make sure you cook it first."


As in the last line of my answer #27, it means that someone has already prepared breakfast and that that you are merely the courier who will collect it.

Mother:  (shouts from the kitchen)  I've made your breakfast!

Teenager: Okay, I'll come and get it.  (Gets out of bed, goes to kitchen, picks up plate and returns to bedroom to eat breakfast in bed  - "get" means "retrieve" or "fetch" in British English)


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## Myridon

Chasint said:


> As in the last line of my answer #27, it means that someone has already prepared breakfast and that that you are merely the courier who will collect it.


So you must know whether the breakfast is already cooked before you know how to ask for it?


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## Chasint

Myridon said:


> So you must know whether the breakfast is already cooked before you know how to ask for it?


I'm not sure if you replied before I edited. Have  look at the example I added. If it still doesn't make sense, I'll develop the subject further.

But No. You ask for it by saying, "Will you make breakfast for me"?  Then, when it has been made, you eat it.


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## Myridon

Chasint said:


> But No. You ask for it by saying, "Will you make breakfast for me"?  Then, when it has been made, you eat it.


How does she know you want her to bring it to you if you only ask for it to be made? And if it's already made, she says "It's already made!"


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## Chasint

Myridon said:


> How does she know you want her to bring it to you if you only ask for it to be made?



I suspect we have crossed wires here. I don't really understand what you find difficult about the British version.  Maybe give a complete scenario (in the form of a conversation) using purely US terminology and I will translate it into British English.


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## london calling

Chasint said:


> We would never *get *breakfast unless it had already been cooked somewhere else and we were going to *collect* it and return with it. Unless of course we are imitating the way Americans say it.


Yes, but we do use 'get' to mean prepare/cook a meal as well :

"Mum, sit down and watch your programme, I'll get the dinner." 

What we don't do is use it as the Americans do. The AE "Can I get a glass of water?" in BE is "Can I have a glass of water?". Brits who aren't familiar with AE would probably tell the person where the kitchen is and to help themselves! 🤣


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## Chasint

london calling said:


> Yes, but we do use 'get' to mean prepare/cook a meal as well :
> 
> "Mum, sit down and watch your programme, I'll get the dinner."
> 
> What we don't do is use it as the Americans do. The AE "Can I get a glass of water?" in BE is "Can I have a glass of water?". Brits who aren't familiar with AE would probably tell the person where the kitchen is and to help themselves! 🤣


This is complicated by the fact that  British people use language influenced by Hollywood and American TV.

I hear older people saying to the assistant "Can I have a cup of coffee?" To which the reply might be, "Yes, sit down and I'll bring it to you"

Younger people will sometimes say, "Can I get a cup of coffee?"  To which the sarcastic reply would be, "No, you are not allowed in the preparation area, I will have to get it for you!"

_____________________________________________

"Mum, sit down and watch your programme, I'll get the dinner."   - I see this as definite American influence and not traditional British usage. Similary, when the doorbell rings,  Brits answer the door whereas Americans get the door.

In BrE, "I'll get the door", would require removing it from its hinges and carrying it bodily into the house.


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## Roxxxannne

"Get your breakfast" does not always mean "eat your breakfast" in AmE.  I've never heard anyone say "get your breakfast" in a situation where the breakfast food is sitting on the table and all the person addressed has to do is eat it.  I have heard (and said) "get your breakfast" when I mean "Take the cereal out of the cupboard, put it in a bowl, add milk.  Then pour yourself a cup of coffee; eat the cereal and drink the coffee."
I can also imagine saying "She got her breakfast down" if I'm talking about someone who is nauseous.


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## heypresto

Chasint said:


> In BrE, "I'll get the door", would require removing it from its hinges and carrying it bodily into the house.


Maybe this is regional, but, for me, it would be entirely natural to say 'I'll get the door' and mean 'I'll answer the door'. It would never cross my mind that it would suggest taking it off its hinges.

It would also be quite natural for me to say to someone when the phone rings at an awkward moment. 'Can you get the phone, I'm busy getting the dinner', and mean 'Please answer the phone, I'm cooking dinner.'

I somehow don't think we are all going to agree on this question.


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## Roxxxannne

I completely agree with heypresto here.


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## Chasint

Roxxxannne said:


> ... I have heard (and said) "get your breakfast" when I mean "Take the cereal out of the cupboard, put it in a bowl, add milk.  Then pour yourself a cup of coffee; eat the cereal and drink the coffee."
> ...


BE translation: Make yourself (some) breakfast.



> I can also imagine saying "She got her breakfast down" if I'm talking about someone who is nauseous.



Yes, in BrE this would be the same, i.e. "She got her breakfast down her throat"  But that is a special case. The emphasis is on the effort of getting it to _go_ down her throat.


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## Chasint

heypresto said:


> Maybe this is regional, but, for me, it would be entirely natural to say 'I'll get the door' and mean 'I'll answer the door'. It would never cross my mind that it would suggest taking it off its hinges.
> 
> It would also be quite natural for me to say to someone when the phone rings at an awkward moment. 'Can you get the phone, I'm busy getting the dinner', and mean 'Please answer the phone, I'm cooking dinner.'
> 
> I somehow don't think we are all going to agree on this question.


I still think that this is through North American influence. I'm old enough to remember a radio series called _Life with the Lyons  _(a Canadian family)_.  _Every episode, the doorbell would ring and Ben Lyon would say "I'll get it!". As a kid I thought this was highly weird and amusing.

If I'm wrong and Brits have been getting the door for centuries, please let me know!


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## Roxxxannne

"Make yourself (some) breakfast" is AmE also.  I didn't mean to imply that Americans say only "get your breakfast."


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## heypresto

Chasint said:


> If I'm wrong and Brits have been getting the door for centuries, please let me know!


I can't speak for centuries, but I can for my 60-odd years. Maybe my parents picked it up on American TV or films?


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## london calling

And 'I'll get the dinner' is something my 90- year old mum says  and she wouldn't dream of speaking 'American'. 😊


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## velisarius

Hmm...old people watch way too much TV.


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## london calling

Not my mother. You have to threaten her to make her sit down. 🤣 She only watches one or two programmes regularly so the only time I can really persuade her to let me get lunch or dinner is when one of them is on. 😊No problems with pater. He can't cook at all.


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