Meaning & use
Viennese table
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Meanings
nouncountableAmerican
A large display of many desserts, such as cakes, pastries, and fruit, set out for guests to serve themselves.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a Viennese table' or 'two Viennese tables' when talking about more than one dessert spread.
Patterns
- a Viennese table at a wedding
- set up a Viennese table
- serve dessert from a Viennese table
The couple chose a Viennese table instead of a single wedding cake.
Guests gathered around the Viennese table to try the tiny pastries and chocolate truffles.
The hotel offers a Viennese table for banquets of more than a hundred people.
nouncountableAmerican
The table or long counter itself on which such a dessert display is arranged.
Grammar: Also countable; here it refers to the physical furniture rather than the food.
Patterns
- decorate the Viennese table
- line the Viennese table with desserts
They decorated the Viennese table with white cloth and fresh flowers.
Staff kept refilling the Viennese table throughout the evening.
Word forms
| plural | Viennese tables |
|---|
Common combinations
- a Viennese table of desserts
- The reception ended with a Viennese table of desserts and coffee.
- set up a Viennese table
- The caterers set up a Viennese table near the dance floor.
- a lavish Viennese table
- Their wedding featured a lavish Viennese table with dozens of cakes.
- a Viennese table at a wedding
- A Viennese table at a wedding is often open after the main meal.
- desserts from the Viennese table
- She took three desserts from the Viennese table.
Synonyms and how they differ
- dessert buffet
- A more general term used in both American and British English for any self-service dessert spread.
- sweet table
- A similar American term, but it often suggests candy and sweets rather than cakes and pastries.
Commonly confused: Viennese table or Viennese coffee?
Viennese table vs Viennese coffee
This is a style of coffee with whipped cream, not a dessert display; the two phrases share the word Viennese but mean very different things.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'Viennese table' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A Viennese table is a dessert display, so it fits a wedding with cakes and pastries. Option 1 is wrong because a Viennese table is not a regular dining table for soup, and option 4 is wrong because desserts are not described as spicy.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “Viennese table”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.