What is "ploughman's lunch"

n. (context British English) A light meal of cheese, pickled onions (or pickle), and a bread roll; especially one served in a pub at lunchtime.

n. a meal consisting of a sandwich of bread and cheese and a salad

A ploughman's lunch (abbrev. to ploughman's) is an English cold meal which consists of cheese, pickle, and bread. Additional items such as apple, boiled eggs, ham, and pickled onions may be added. As its name suggests, it is more commonly consumed at midday.

Beer, bread, and cheese have been combined in the English diet since antiquity. However, the specific term "ploughman's lunch" is believed to date no further back than the 1950s, when the Cheese Bureau (a marketing body affiliated to the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency) began promoting the meal in pubs as a way to increase the sales of cheese, which had recently ceased to be rationed. Its popularity increased as the Milk Marketing Board promoted the meal nationally throughout the 1960s.