• katkit@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    Additionally to what else was said, I’ve seen them used in beergardens to cover the drink to prevent bugs from drowning themselves in your drink. I guess then the coasters don’t serve to protect the table anymore.

    • exasperation@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      1 day ago

      That’s the possibly apocryphal origin story of Spanish tapas, too: a slice of bread to cover the wine glass between sips (hence the name “tapa,” which means a “cover”), then a few things to dress up that slice of bread, maybe a piece of meat or cheese. So traditionally a single tapa is served for each glass of wine you order.

      • katkit@lemmy.world
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        1 day ago

        I didn’t even think about the German word, which is Bierdeckel - literally beer cover. Well the boring word for it would be Untersetzer, which is the substantive of “to place underneath”.