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Tab-nabs

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gastwo | 08:39 Sat 30th Jul 2005 | Food & Drink
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Snacks served mid-morning and mid-afternoon in the navy and in the off-shore oil/gas/drilling industry are known as 'Tab-nabs'  Anyone know the origin?
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Don't know the origin, but I spent the first third of my married life on merchant navy cargo ships and tankers. Tea and tabnabs.....how that takes me back. We used the phrase to mean cakes.
According to The Oxford English Dictionary, the origin is obscure, so - if the scholars there can't pin it down - it's a safe bet that nobody else will be able to. It is first recorded in the 1930s, so it isn't really ancient naval jargon. I suppose the 'nabs' part might just conceivably be related to the idea of 'nibbles', another word sometimes applied to little 'treats'.
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Thanks both!  I found about as much as you did, Qm - maybe one day we'll get the answer!

Woof, what tankers were you on?

Dont know if it helps but when I was in the Army a 'tab' was a cigarette.

So we used to have 'tab' breaks.

Might connect?

chevron, mobil esso, Blue funnel cargo before that

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