Colors

Brown Bag (Meal)

When used in conjunction with a meal, "Brown Bag" is an expression meaning that the meal has been prepared at and brought from home for eating at another usually public location. The expression comes from the plain brown bag that for decades was frequently used as the container for the food.

How It's Used

“When Credit Suisse First Boston senior bankers gathered at the Hilton Rye Town in Rye Brook, N.Y., this past summer, the retreat’s main dinner was a brown-bag affair.  To cut costs, the big securities firm asked two executives at each table to bring the wine at their own expense.”

“At least it was for people who gave rudimentary advice on how to be a millionaire. Give up that pack-a-day smoking habit, they said, and in 40 years you will have saved almost $250,000 in today's dollars, assuming a conservative 4 percent annual return. Brown-bag your lunch, drop HBO and pay off your mortgage early and gradually, over a lifetime, you will accumulate $1 million in assets. Back then, all you had to do was live below your means and save, save, save.”

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