A British chain of fast-food restaurants, best known for hamburgers. It opened in Britain in the 1950s and for a long time was the place British people went for a burger — before McDonald's and Burger King arrived and pushed it aside. Only a small number of branches are left today, mostly in smaller towns and seaside places, so for many British people the name brings back childhood memories more than hunger. One thing that surprises visitors: a traditional Wimpy was a sit-down restaurant with waiters, plates and metal cutlery, not a counter where you carry a tray. The chain is still much bigger in South Africa than in Britain. As a proper noun it is capitalised and takes no 'the' before it. Do keep it separate from the ordinary adjective 'wimpy', spelled the same but with a small letter, which means weak, soft, or easily frightened — 'don't be so wimpy'. That everyday adjective is far more useful to you than the restaurant, though the two are probably linked: the restaurant is thought to be named after Wimpy, the hamburger-loving character in the old Popeye cartoons, and his name is also one likely source of the 'weak person' meaning.