In Italy, in addition to the three main meals – colazione (breakfast), pranzo (lunch) and cena (dinner) – there is a fourth that occurs between lunch and dinner called merenda (afternoon snack).
Although each region and family is different, merenda tends to be thought of as a child’s snack eaten after school to keep them going until dinnertime.
A popular idiomatic expression in Italy is come i cavoli a merenda (lit. like cabbages at merenda). It is used to describe someone or something that doesn’t belong, fit or match.