Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[imchongjun]

Helle, teachers.
My question is: what is a "piece day" at school? What do you do on this occasion? I am afraid this word may be obsolete since I found it in a novel written in 1917. I guess this is the day when students recite poems and stories before a lot of people such as other students, teachers and parents... Am I correct?
Chongjun

[Kristea]

You may be right. I have never heard the expresion. From what novel did you find the term?

Today students may celebrate a "Peace Day," and you can guess what that would involve.

-= Kristi
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"That man is a success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much." R.L. Stevenson

[ab]

"piece" is defined as; A fragment or part of anything separated from the whole. ie. a piece of cake

Perhaps the piece day was a part of something else.
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ab2146

[imchongjun]

Hi, Kristea and ab.
The novel is "Parnassus on Wheels" by Christopher Morley.
Let me quoate the passage in where "piece day" appears.

Mrs. Mason opened up her parlour and we sat there while Mifflin recited
"The Revenge" and "Maud Muller."
"Well, now, ain't that real sweet!" said Emma Mason. "It's
surprising how those words rhyme so nicely. Seems almost as though
it was done a-purpose! Reminds me of piece day at school. There
was a mighty pretty piece I learned called the 'Wreck of the
Asperus.'" And she subsided into a genteel melancholy.

I checked every dictionary available at the library, but "piece day" is not listed in any of them. Perhaps a mighty old-fashioned expression. But I am curious to know what it means.

[Hayde]

a piece here is just some form of writing (could be a poem or short story I think). Piece Day would then be a day where people read "pieces" or maybe wrote them. It could also have been a contest day for poems, short stories, whatever the piece was. This is all a guess. I think that it is a very old fashioned term.