in church

[Roseate]

Hi,
I've posted this question at 'Ask a Teacher' but I think it must be more appropreate to put it hear.
I've come across this saying in a book: "I quit eating in church."
I don't know if it is an idiom or not. And if it is, what does it really mean? If not, does it mean as it ... reads?
Please help.

[BobK]

It's not an idiom*. I could mean one of two things:

1 It was in church that I decided to stop eating
2 I gave up [the practice of] eating in church

I'd guess that the 2nd is the more likely of the two, but it'd depend on context.

b

*ps (at least, not one I've met in a lifetime spent mostly in the South of England)

[Roseate]

Thank you for your reply, BobK.

This is the context the sentence is from.
"... The result was the weight and waisline started coming down. I was also dieting religiously durng this period of time (I quit eating in church). Seriously, I did diet and I'll have more to say about that in a moment...."

This is extracted from See You At The Top, a book by Zig Ziglar (an American). He was doing things to lose his weight. Previously, he didn't say he had his meals in church, or anything like that, so I feel, if the sentence is not - and you say it isn't - an idiom, it'd make no sense literally. (wouldn't it be ridiculous to eat in church?)

I'm glad you've noticed my post anh shared your opinion anyway.

Roseate

[Anglika]

I replied in "Ask Your Teacher", but from this extract the author is clearly being facetious by making a joke on the use of "religiously" used as synonym for "strictly"