[Vocabulary] I demand a refund of the cost of the board

[angelene001]

When writing a letter of complaint to the hotel manager, can I use 'board' meaning 'food' in such a sentence:
I demand a refund of the cost of the board because I did not eat in your hotel.

 

[bhaisahab]

When writing a letter of complaint to the hotel manager, can I use 'board' meaning 'food' in such a sentence:
I demand a refund of the cost of the board because I did not eat in your hotel.

It would be better to use "food" or "meals".

 

[emsr2d2]

Even though we still use phrases like "half board" and "full board", you rarely hear "bed and board" any more and I would never expect to hear just "board" used to refer to meals.

 

[konungursvia]

It's an interesting usage, as I note in my study of my native ancestral language, Icelandic, that all the Scandinavian languages also have the metaphor from table to food, just as the Latin languages use "kitchen" and the East Asian ones use "rice" or "vegetables" as a synechdoche for the more general concept. So I suppose we get the concept of board meaning food from the Danes in the Yorkshire region, who influenced Old English a good deal.

Board is acceptable in your letter, though I agree 'meals' is clearer these days.

 

[SoothingDave]

We have "room and board" at colleges (or boarding schools), but you would not use "board" by itself like this. It's a part of a set phrase.