A good trencher-man A good eater The trencher is the platter on which food is cut (French, trancher, to cut), by a figure of speech applied to food itself He that waits for another's trencher, eats many a late dinner He who is dependent on others must wait, and wait, and wait, happy if after waiting he gets anything at all Oh, how wretched Is that poor man that hangs on princes favours! There is, betwixt that smile he would aspire to, That sweet aspect of princes, and their ruin, More pangs and fears than wars or women have Shakespeare: Henry VIII , iii 2 Trencher Cap The mortar-board cap worn at college; so called from the trenchered or split boards which form the top Mortar-board is a perversion of the French mortier