If it was true I would have found myself in a lot more trouble

I work with someone who, as a standard interview question, asks candidates to rank, on a scale of 1 to 10, how much they know about the area for which they are being hired - as an example, marketing; answering anything more than 4 is a mark against them. Until today I thought this was a little harsh.

However, as I was driving home tonight I learned something that made me question some of the fundamental truths I have accepted since childhood... and made me wonder whether I should perhaps be just a little more humble in my beliefs.

For anyone growing up in England - anyone of my generation that is, the term "Elevenses" conjures up a carefree, nostalgic time of school uniforms, a much needed break from Latin, a few slices of buttered bread warmed against the side of an oversized kettle, a cup of tea and a few minutes to pop in to the Tuck shop before heading back to Knobby's class for a lesson in declining french verbs.

Unless, of course, you read Michael Pollan's Omnivore Dilemma and catch his passing reference to "Elevenses" as being a by-product of the over-abundance of cheap whiskey in the 1800's, and the supply of spirits through the course of the workday (by employers no less) which gave rise to the modern coffee break as a late-morning whiskey break.

A little research turned up a few comparable references - most notably to the similarly named Chilean break called Onces - the Spanish word for Eleven, and reputedly slang for the 11 letters of aguardiente - indicating a stiff drink after work. As such, it turns out that unlike our "elevenses', Onces is actually a late afternoon snack.... to me an entirely more reasonable time for a quick nip.

So with nothing else in hand, I have to question this revisionist theory of the morning break. Michael Pollan's supposition that American's had a wee dram over their mid-morning break seems entirely plausible - I've been known to use time zones myself to benchmark the sun's traverse of the yardarm, but his derivation of the term "elevenses" seems to be little more than literary imperialism. With my fundamental truths restored, I can now move back to questioning why an admission of knowing less is a reason to hire.