[7] An alternative widespread, but unfounded, popular etymology for the word in Chile is that priests (in other versions, workers or women) used the phrase tomar las once (Spanish: 'drink the eleven') in reference to the eleven letters of the word Aguardiente to conceal the fact that they were drinking during the day.
Most people nowadays will attribute German self-awareness of this to an advertisement for Knoppers, a type of candy, with the saying "Morgens, halb Zehn, in Deutschland…" ("In the morning, 9:30, in Germany…"), that had become its own meme.
But in reality, since those workers work harder, the most common snacks include bread rolls with meat, e.g. Mettbrötchen (raw pork mince), Leberkäse (comparable to trick baloney), Schnitzel, three small sausages (Wiener or Nürnberger), etc., all preferably warm; or just cold cuts.
In certain parts of rural India, especially in northern states, such as Punjab, it is normal practice to take tea break two or three hours after breakfast.
When the practice began, there was no set clock and break was usually between 10–11 a.m., so as in other countries it was named after the approximate time; Das-Baja, meaning '10 o'clock tea'.
The practice is slowly becoming obsolete in cities and towns, especially in professional jobs, but in rural areas such breaks for manual and agricultural labourers are still very popular.
It also occurs in major unionized workplaces, such as factories and customer services reception centres, where workers are handed tea.
In West Friesland country people had a similar meal called "konkelstik" (served at konkeltiid, the proper time for konkelen, a verb denoting "making a visit").
Rather than a heavy chunk of sausage or other meat, though, like the German second breakfast, Poles prefer a lighter, dessert-like pastry or sweet with a hot drink, more similar to the American "coffee break".
It usually consists of a small snack, fruit, or a sandwich, i.e. a lighter meal, so as not to fill the stomach before lunch.
In Spain it is not rare to have a short meal break around 11:00 a.m., particularly in jobs of intense physical activity; this can range from a hot drink paired with light snacks like pastries to a sandwich, scrambled eggs or a piece of Spanish omelette (also known as a pincho).
In the Basque Country, in particular, it is common to have a mid-morning snack consisting of high-protein food like eggs, bacon, or cured meat on bread, called "hamarretako" (lit.
In Switzerland, there is a Znüni ('(Meal) at nine', following the nomenclature of Breakfast (Zmorge), Lunch (Zmittag), afternoon snack at four (Zvieri) and Dinner (Znacht)).
In the Middle-earth stories by J. R. R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings), elevenses is one of the many meals that is enjoyed by the Hobbits of the Shire, served daily between second breakfast and luncheon.