Before/after you’ve gone

In Amsterdam Dutch the term boterbrief, “butter-letter”, is used for a marriage licence. In English a bread-and-butter letter is written to thank one’s ex-host (or -spouse, presumably) for that which one has consumed. The former has its origins in the Latin literae butyricae, a permit issued by the church enabling consumption of meat and dairy products during Lent, and I think the latter does too, although I have no evidence. Marc de Coster butters this and other crumpet here. I don’t think there’s a Spanish equivalent, probably because no one felt that violation of the code required permission.

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