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recess


noun 1.  the mid-morning break in primary school. Compare little lunch, playlunch.
2. a snack eaten then.
Contributor's comments: This word is used in South Australia for the mid-morning break in primary schools.

Contributor's comments: Used in Perth for mid morning and mid afternoon school break.

Contributor's comments: Recess was used for the morning and afternoon break at school in Mildura, Victoria, also.

Contributor's comments: I do not think this is particularly regional - consider the US movie "Recess: School's Out"

Contributor's comments: I have only ever heard 'recess" used to mean the actual food eaten during recess, in S.A.

Contributor's comments: [Yass, NSW informant] At Primary School it is Little Lunch or Playlunch - but at High School it's Recess.

Contributor's comments: Recess was used in Tasmania in the same context when I was at school in the 70's & 80's and is currently in use in NSW primary schools - well at least at my son's anyway.

Contributor's comments: Also used in NSW (at least Sydney) for the same break... also "little lunch".

Contributor's comments: Recess is also the name for morning break in Tasmania.

Contributor's comments: I grew up in Northern Victoria and we used playlunch particularly in primary school. My daughter who is eight and goes to school in Adelaide talks about "eating her recess".

Contributor's comments: I remember getting the 'cuts' for being in a fight during 'recess' when I was in Darwin.

Contributor's comments: I remember the pronounciation of "recess" being quite different as a child in Adelaide. The emphasis was firmly on the second syllable ("re-CESS") as opposed to "RE-cess" in Sydney.

Contributor's comments: [Perth informant] In primary school we used recess and lunch but now in high school we use first break and second break.

Contributor's comments: Can be used to describe either the morning break at school (both primary and high school in SA) or the food eaten at this break, ie "I forgot my recess!"