grace cupn.
/ˈɡreɪs kʌp/, U.S. /ˈɡreɪs ˌkəp/ A cup of wine (or another drink) passed round the table after grace is said; (hence) the last drink before going to bed, a parting drink. Also figurative. Cf. grace-drink n. at grace n. Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > [noun] > a drink of > before departure
bridling cast?1499
grace cupc1593
voiding beer1639
stirrup-cup1681
deoch an dorisc1700
stirrup-glass1775
stirrup-dram1815
binder1899
one for the road1939
c1593 in J. Raine Descr. Anc. Monuments Church of Durham (1842) 68 A great mazer, called the Grace-cup.
1647 J. Trapp Comm. Evangelists & Acts (Mark xiv. 25) That grace-cup (as they call it) after which they might not eat any thing more till the day following.
1679 J. Dryden Troilus & Cressida Pref. sig. a2 Thus in Mustapha, the Play should naturally have ended with the death of Zanger, and not have given us the grace Cup after Dinner, of Solyman's divorce from Roxolana.
c1718 M. Prior Ladle 115 The grace-cup serv'd, the cloth away.
1786 Mrs. Johnson Francis III. 173 The epilogue, or grace-cup, to wash down the meal..had not yet exceeded the vos valete & plaudite.
1816 W. Scott Old Mortality iii, in Tales of my Landlord 1st Ser. II. 65 Such as..were..obliged to partake of a grace-cup with their captain before their departure.
1886 R. Willis & J. W. Clark Archit. Hist. Univ. Cambr. III. 381 As soon as Grace had been said, and the grace-cup had been passed round, the seniors were to retire to their studies.
1903 M. Howard Old London Silver iii. 93 In drinking from the grace-cup, two persons rise, and while one drinks the other stands by his side to protect him.
1938 Burlington Mag. Dec. p. xiv, (caption) Pair of grace cups, maker's mark W.F. 1615.
1997 C. Shaw Sc. Myths & Customs v. 113 Queen Margaret, who was canonised for her piety, introduced the ‘grace cup’ to the tables of the Scottish court.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2013; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.c1593