"Sunday roast" means a traditional roast dinner, eaten on a sunday, consisting of roast meat and trimmings. It is one of many casual words teens pick up from friends, social media, music or sport, and on its own it carries no particular warning. If you hear your teen use it, it is fair to ask what they mean by it in their friend group, since meanings drift quickly. Asking out of curiosity rather than alarm tends to keep the conversation open and useful.
Sunday roast
(British, Canada, Australia, New Zealand) A traditional roast dinner, eaten on a Sunday, consisting of roast meat and trimmings.
Seen in the wild
Photograph: Jonathan Lovekin/The Observer # Nigel Slater's summer Sunday roast recipes Heat up a summer weekend with lamb and Mediterranean herbs or sea bass stuffed with spinach, then cool off with apricot ice-cream…
# Sunday roast Sunday roast British dish of meat and vegetables "Sunday Lunch" and "Sunday Dinner" redirect here.
And nothing says "welcome back" more than the British tradition of a Sunday roast.
Definitions
(British, Canada, Australia, New Zealand) A traditional roast dinner, eaten on a Sunday, consisting of roast meat and trimmings.
"Sunday roast" means a traditional roast dinner, eaten on a sunday, consisting of roast meat and trimmings. It is one of many casual words teens pick up from friends, social media, music or sport, and on its own it carries no particular warning. If you hear your teen use it, it is fair to ask what they mean by it in their friend group, since meanings drift quickly. Asking out of curiosity rather than alarm tends to keep the conversation open and useful.
"Sunday roast" is informal English meaning a traditional roast dinner, eaten on a sunday, consisting of roast meat and trimmings. It is mainly heard in British English (and Irish English). A more formal or neutral equivalent would be something like "a traditional roast dinner" expressed in standard vocabulary. A common mistake is to assume "Sunday roast" can replace its standard equivalent in every register; keep it for spoken or casual situations and use the formal form in writing. If you are a B2 or C1 learner, it is useful to recognise this word when you hear or read it, but think carefully about whether the situation really calls for it before using it yourself.
“Photograph: Jonathan Lovekin/The Observer # Nigel Slater's summer Sunday roast recipes Heat up a summer weekend with lamb and Mediterranean herbs or sea bass stuffed with spinach, then cool off with apricot ice-cream Deep summer, but I still want a Sunday roast.”
“# Sunday roast Sunday roast British dish of meat and vegetables "Sunday Lunch" and "Sunday Dinner" redirect here.”
“And nothing says "welcome back" more than the British tradition of a Sunday roast.”
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For specific readers
Why is this section here?
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
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