Brewer's: Midsummer Ale

The Midsummer banquet. Brand mentions nine alefeasts: “Bride-ales, church-ales, clerk-ales, give-ales, lamb-ales, leet-ales, Midsummer-ales, Scot-ales, Whitsun-ales, and several more.” Here “ale” does not mean the drink, but the feast in which good stout ale was supplied. The Cambridge phrase, “Will you wine with me after hall?” means, “Will you come to my rooms for dessert, when wines, fruits, and cigars will be prepared, with coffee to follow?”

Related Content Allusions Foreign Words and Phrases Latin and Greek Word Elements Names: Their Origins and Meanings Old Testament Names Mythology Ancient Greek Literature & Mythology The Bible (King James version) The Koran (translation by J. M. Rodwell) Shakespeare's Plays Tales from Shakespeare (Charles and Mary Lamb) Frequently Misspelled Words Frequently Mispronounced Words Easily Confused Words Writing & Language