Meaning
A ventilated cupboard — with mesh, wire-gauze, or perforated-metal sides — used to store cooked food and meat and keep flies and vermin out, in the days before the refrigerator ('fridge'). The meat safe stood in the kitchen or on the verandah, its screened doors letting air pass while guarding the food, and it was where the leftovers and the next meal were kept. Older people still call a food cupboard the 'safe'.
Examples
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Put di leftover dinner inna di meat safe.
Put the leftover dinner in the meat safe.
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Before fridge, everybody did have a meat safe.
Before fridges, everybody had a meat safe.
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Cover di food an lock di safe from fly.
Cover the food and shut the safe against flies.
Origin
From 'meat' + 'safe' (a screened storage cupboard); the pre-fridge food safe. See [[dresser]], [[kitchen-bitch]].
How it’s used
A ventilated screened cupboard for storing food before refrigerators. See [[dresser]], [[coal-stove]].