Origin of phrase

[tinaefish]

What is the origin of the expression bun fight?

[Quizmonster]

The earliest recorded reference to a bun-fight appeared in the late 1920s in an account of a works-outing which - according to the author - "combines the functions of a bun-fight, an Eisteddfod and an Olympic contest." Presumably, such outings did become a little boisterous and might well have involved throwing actual buns around! The Eisteddfod angle would suggest lots of singing and performing and the Olympic reference might suggest sporty activities such as tug-of-wars and so on.

[New Forester]

I can only imagine that it arose spontaneously as a slightly disparaging jocular term for a tea-party.  It conjures up a suitable image of an occasion with lots of hand-sized food, and perhaps some rather fierce elderly ladies about the place.  I've heard it used particularly for local public events, such as the tea at a village fete.

 

Didn't the Goons do an episode entitled "Bun Fight at the OK Tea Rooms"?