katerina turevich Sep 11, 2014:

Now, the above is for the phrase “three course TV dinner"
Thing is, I didn’t really push it as an answer because I completely agree with the logic of cpdtranslations. I didn’t mention it and didn’t post an ‘agree’, because I was concentrating on defending the phrase ‘three course TV dinner”, and then back to whatever else I was doing at the moment. I regret it now. I should have supported it the plain and simple phrasing provided by cpdtranslations , because indeed now, some 65 years after the thing was invented, it no longer matters how many food components there are in a tray. Everybody knows 3 is now more or less the standard offer. And if it happens to only one steak or a dish of macaroni, then it will specify so on the cover.
In any case, these are my thoughts on the matter, and my apologies for posting after closure.

katerina turevich Sep 11, 2014:

Now, if you put “three course dinner”you get https://www.google.nl/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=a1MRVO-TLofjOZOkgZgP&gws... ön the other hand I read in the Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prepackaged_meal that: “A TV dinner usually consists of a cut of meat, usually beef or chicken; with a vegetable, such as peas, carrots, corn, or potatoes; and sometimes a dessert, such as a brownie or apple cobbler. The entrée could also be pasta or a common type of fish, such as Atlantic cod. Rice is a common side item.” You will notice the food in the main section is called “entré”, with the side dishes being just what they should be: grain and vegetables.

katerina turevich Sep 11, 2014:

If I may be so bold as to post after the fact…
I would like to mention that I completely agree with the logic of Cpdtranslations. Normally, If I have any doubts about something from the start, whatever dictionaries I may use in the process, I solidly google it for current use as the last step before I decide how to translate it.
In this case, when I google the selected answer in quotes, I get only one result.: https://www.google.nl/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=a1MRVO-TLofjOZOkgZgP&gws... ;
this: http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a006196.pdf .
Quote: “Three item T.V. Dinner (ham with raisin sauce and sweet potatoes., green peas and stewed apples used in this determination. “ It refers to PERFORMANCE OF DIAMOND DELUXE PULPBOARD IN MICROWAVE
In other words, quite a deluxe gourmet dinner, but still in a plastic tray, and so badly that “Tray softened in heat and deformed with handling”. You will notice that even in this reference, the actual section of a tray filled with food is called a component: “Separate dinner into components while still frozen.”
You will also notice that it’s quite dated: from March 8, 1973.

jads (asker) Sep 11, 2014:

Thankyou Thankyou everyone for your time and effort. As always, very much appreciated!

katerina turevich Sep 10, 2014:

@ Natasha All the links I posted refer to sectional division of the food on a tray. "Meat and 2 vegetables" kind of TV dinner. As I said already, all of it is quite dated, but the joke is that it seems to be picking up in use as 'retro' fashion. Take a look at this: https://www.facebook.com/TheArtofDiningPopUp/posts/286056074...
The main problem here is that 'compartments' are normally found in car trunks and suitcases; 'item' you normally buy a store or count up on a balance sheet. What you put in your mouth, if it is differentiated, should be called a 'course" according to an old convention, because you don't eat it all at once, but in turns: a fork/spoon mouthful at a time and marking the difference with every bite:
" frozen burritos were considered by most — outside the most esoteric of circles — as heretical. Prevailing doctrines considered them not only of questionable nutritional value, but theologically suspect. Since frozen burritos are essentially a one-course deal, they had none of the sacramental qualities of the three-course TV dinner. " from http:http://admin2.collegepublisher.com/preview/mobile/2.5336/2.5...

Natasha Ziada (X) Sep 9, 2014:

Not 3 courses As far as I know 3-vaksmaaltijd is meant to describe the 'meat and 2 vegetables' kind of meal - not 3 courses as in entree, main course and dessert.

See http://www.promofolder.nl/nl/winkels/PlusSupermarkt/plus-hol... or many others

katerina turevich Sep 9, 2014:

Gourmet TV Dinner is an oxymoron, so I am not sure you would want to use it
But it is an established reality in American supermarkets. It means a multi-course prepackaged meal

but check this out: From http://www.newspapers.com/newspage/605409/ :
. Foods that don't come that way, come frozen in tiny cubes, one step nearer the table. The frozen pie, the prefabricated hot roll, the four course TV dinner in the sectional aluminum tray (just pop in the oven and serve), are further stages in this culinary evolution. ”

It is of course horribly dated, but I still love the language used in the above excerpt. You should check out that link
As for how to call a TV dinner that comes in three sectional TV dinner tray…
I think Gourmet Dinner will do the trick, or a "3-course TV dinner"

There are of course many 3-course, 4-course, 5-course TV dinners if you care to google it

The irony of college eating was that I complained about dorm cafeteria food until I started eating pot pies several nights a week. Fancy eating in college was the 4-course TV dinner, a childhood favorite of mine as well. “http://flipsidecolumn.blogspot.nl/2011_08_01_archive.html

cpdtranslati (X) Sep 9, 2014:

Number of compartments doesn't matter The number of compartments of the meal does not matter. Just google "drievaksmaaltijd" and you will find a lot of hits with just two compartments or even one and we Dutch still call it "drievaksmaaltijd". The term is thus generally used to describe a certain kind of meal and it doesn't matter into how many compartments this meal comes. For this reason, I would go for "TV Dinner" or similar term.

Verginia Ophof Sep 9, 2014:

meal courses - Three course TV dinner that usually means an entree (soup or salad), main meal and dessert

katerina turevich Sep 9, 2014:

You could call it a Three Course TV Dinner

sounds mildly corporate

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=266&dat=19651014&id=Gu...
https://www.facebook.com/groovyreflections/posts/38271198176...
http://www.amosweb.com/cgi-bin/awb_nav.pl?s=pdg&c=dsp&k=52

jads (asker) Sep 9, 2014:

Business term Sorry, my fault. This is a business to business description I believe.

leacarter Sep 9, 2014:

Dinner/meal for 1 I've never seen a description like '3 compartment meal' aimed at consumers in the UK.

http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Catego...

Perhaps in business to business packaging descriptions it could be though.

freekfluweel Sep 9, 2014:

3 compartment meal http://esskaypacks.in/products/combo-meal-trays/