As I describe on the Chilean Food page, “Once” is the light meal eaten in the late afternoon. Faithful reader SmellWing let me know of the origins of the Chilean “Once”:
Tradition has it that long ago men that wanted to drink their liquor, or “aguardiente” in Spanish, during the time of day that is now “Once” invented a code to hide the fact that they were drinking at 5:00 in the afternoon. This code was the number of letters in “aguardiente” which is eleven or “once” in Spanish. With the passage of time, tea time became known as “Once.”
Thanks SmellWing!
