The expression “coffee break” was first attested in 1952 in glossy magazine advertisements by the Pan-American Coffee Bureau.
VAMP
vamp
(noun) piece of leather forming the front part of the upper of a shoe
vamp
(noun) an improvised musical accompaniment
coquette, flirt, vamp, vamper, minx, tease, prickteaser
(noun) a seductive woman who uses her sex appeal to exploit men
vamp, revamp
(verb) provide (a shoe) with a new vamp; “revamp my old boots”
vamp
(verb) act seductively with (someone)
vamp, vamp up
(verb) piece (something old) with a new part; “vamp up an old speech”
vamp, vamp up
(verb) make up; “vamp up an excuse for not attending the meeting”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology 1
Noun
vamp (plural vamps)
The top part of a boot or shoe, above the sole and welt and in front of the ankle seam, that covers the instep and toes; the front part of an upper; the analogous part of a stocking. [from c. 1225]
Something added to give an old thing a new appearance; a patch.
Something patched up, pieced together, improvised, or refurbished.
(music) A repeated and often improvised accompaniment, usually consisting of one or two measures, often a single chord or simple chord progression, repeated as necessary, for example, to accommodate dialogue or to anticipate the entrance of a soloist. [from c. 1789]
(by extension) An activity or speech intended to fill or stall for time.
Verb
vamp (third-person singular simple present vamps, present participle vamping, simple past and past participle vamped)
(transitive) To patch, repair, or refurbish.
(transitive) Often as vamp up: to fabricate or put together (something) from existing material, or by adding new material to something existing.
(transitive) To cobble together, to extemporize, to improvise.
(ambitransitive, music, specifically) To perform a vamp (“a repeated, often improvised accompaniment, for example, under dialogue or while waiting for a soloist to be ready”).
(transitive, shoemaking) To attach a vamp (to footwear).
(ambitransitive, now, dialectal) To travel by foot; to walk.
(intransitive) To delay or stall for time, as for an audience.
Etymology 2
Noun
vamp (plural vamps)
A flirtatious, seductive woman, especially one who exploits men by using their sexual desire for her. [from c. 1915]
(informal) A vampire.
Synonyms
• See vamp
Verb
vamp (third-person singular simple present vamps, present participle vamping, simple past and past participle vamped)
(transitive) To seduce or exploit someone.
Etymology 3
Noun
vamp (plural vamps)
(US, slang) A volunteer firefighter.
Source: Wiktionary
Vamp v. i.
Definition: To advance; to travel. [Obs.]
Vamp, n. Etym: [OE. vampe, vaumpe, vauntpe, F. avantpied the forefoot, vamp; anat before, fore + pied foot, L. pes. See Advance, Van of an army, and Foot.]
1. The part of a boot or shoe above the sole and welt, and in front of the ankle seam; an upper.
2. Any piece added to an old thing to give it a new appearance. See Vamp, v. t.
Vamp, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Vamped; p. pr. & vb. n. Vamping.]
Definition: To provide, as a shoe, with new upper leather; hence, to piece, as any old thing, with a new part; to repair; to patch; -- often followed by up. I had never much hopes of your vamped play. Swift.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
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