potatoes and point

English

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

• Relates to pointing with the finger (see 1880 citation), but sources differ: perhaps pointing to the empty space where the meat/fish would be.
• Perhaps from point as the punctuation mark (period/full stop) marking termination.

Noun

potatoes and point (uncountable)

1. (humorous, Ireland, obsolete) A simple meal of potatoes only, or very little else.
   • 1880, Notes and Queries, page 443:

     I well remember partaking, when a child four or five years old, with other little ones, of the dish referred to, viz., "potatoes-and-point,"—and no meat at all entered into its composition—which consisted of boiled potatoes mashed up with a little milk. […] Every now and then, on the word of command—"Point!"—being given by the nurse, we all pointed our spoons to the ceiling and then fell to again. […] All parents also know how easily young children are enticed into anything like playing at a game, and this "potatoes-and-point" in our eyes almost amounted to one.

   • 1883, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, volume 52, page 95:

     Many readers will be reminded of the Irish dish "Potatoes and point," consisting of a large supply of potatoes and of a very limited supply of meat, bacon, or even fish.