square meal

American  

noun

1. a nourishing or filling meal.

   You'll feel better after you've had a square meal.

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square meal British  

noun

1. a substantial meal consisting of enough food to satisfy

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Etymology

Origin of square meal

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

Three or four children cram behind each desk at a local school, which aims to feed each pupil a bowl of rice and beans so they can have at least one square meal per day.

From Reuters • Dec. 13, 2021

Maybe for lunch today I’ll make a square meal of my own.

From The Verge • Aug. 26, 2021

I also think you could consider having some/all of your teenagers plan and prepare a square meal for the family on a semiregular basis.

From Slate • Nov. 25, 2020

Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, February 12, 2011; 3:10 PM Gordon Smith believes few things are more American than a square meal with peas, carrots and corn.

From Washington Post • Feb. 12, 2011

It was even harder to keep it on the table long enough for her children to eat a square meal.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown