What Does ‘The Breakfast Club’ Mean?

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Why is the John Hughes Movie Called The Breakfast Club?

The meaning behind the film title “The Breakfast Club” stems from a nickname some schools have for detention. Presumably students arrive early in the morning, around breakfast time, for detention. The film “The Breakfast Club” centers around 5 students in detention and while they didn’t initially get along, they eventually connect, therefore solidify the ‘club’ part of the title.

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John Hughes Got the Name The Breakfast Club From a Friend

According to IMDB, John Hughes knew someone whose school called detention The Breakfast Club. Other names that are rumored to have been considered include Detention and The Lunch Bunch. Good choice sticking with The Breakfast Club.

Where Did the Phrase the Breakfast Club Come From?

In addition to referring to school detention as the breakfast club, there have been uses of the term outside of the educational system years before the John Hughes flick hit theaters. Most notably there was a radio program that premiered in the ‘30s called Don McNeill’s Breakfast Club.

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Which came first The Breakfast Club Movie or the Band?

The band called The Breakfast Club formed in 1979 and therefore was created before the movie of the same name. Madonna was briefly a member in the ‘80s. The band had a hit song in 1987 with “Right on Track,” but broke up the following year. There’s a documentary called “Madonna and the Breakfast Club” which is most definitely not about the John Hughes movie.

What Are Other Uses of the Phrase The Breakfast Club?

Kuddos to the UK for actually using the term the Breakfast Club to mean breakfast; in the ‘90s the UK implemented breakfast clubs to offer free food to children before school. There is also a well-known radio program out of New York called The Breakfast Club.