Dictionary

tightener en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈtaɪtn̩ə/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈtaɪtn̩ɚ/ (General-American)

Etymology

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

Meanings

1. Something used to tighten.
2. (UK, archaic, slang) A large meal; a feast or blowout.
   • 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. 1876, William Green, Charles Hindley, The Life and Adventures of a Cheap Jack, page 55:
   • 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; […]

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