dine with Duke Humphrey

Etymology
Said to be from the practice of the poor gentry, who beguiled the dinner hour by a promenade near the tomb of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, in Old Saint Paul's.

Verb

 * 1)  To go without dinner.
 * 2) * c. 1620, anonymous, “” in Giles Earle his Booke (British Museum, Additional MSS. 24, 665):
 * When I want prouant wth: Humfrie I sup, & when benighted, I repose in Powles wth: waking soules, Yet neuer am affrighted.
 * When I lack food, I go without it, and when benighted, I repose in St. Paul’s (graveyard) with ghosts, Yet am never scared.
 * When I lack food, I go without it, and when benighted, I repose in St. Paul’s (graveyard) with ghosts, Yet am never scared.

Usage notes

 * Common in Elizabethan literature.