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Supper or Tea or Dinner?

(96 Posts)
Lily65 Tue 14-May-19 19:07:24

It's dinner here around 5 pm. Sometimes we call the same meal tea.

00mam00 Wed 15-May-19 10:35:42

It’s definitely a class thing. We used to have breakfast, dinner, tea. But when we changed to breakfast, lunch, dinner, posh folks changed dinner to supper to keep one step ahead.

I remember years ago being invited to supper at a posh (pretentious) friends house, we weren’t sure if it meant cocoa and biscuits or what, so we ate a light meal before going. I still think it is very pretentious to call dinner, supper.

wot Wed 15-May-19 10:32:40

I've always had a ridiculous dislike of people calling their dinner tea. I know its a regional thing.

Nanny27 Wed 15-May-19 10:21:33

Yes dinner here too, around 7.30. The meal in the middle of the day is lunch. Tea may or may not happen around 4.30 and is bread and butter, cake etc. Supper can be anything at around 9-10pm.

Miep1 Wed 15-May-19 10:14:17

Has always been lunch for me (when I eat it, which is rare) and dinner in the evening - any time between 6 and 8pm.

Blackcat3 Wed 15-May-19 09:54:53

Tea is in the afternoon....3-4 pm....supper is an informal evening meal, 5-7 pm.... whereas dinner is a more formal meal served later say around 8 pm....

Wilma65 Wed 15-May-19 09:53:01

Depends on the meal. On sundays we have cooked dinner at 1pm and tea and sandwiches about 5. Weekdays we have sandwiches , soup etc at 1 and cooked dinner at 5

lovebeigecardigans1955 Wed 15-May-19 09:48:23

Dinner at 1 pm-ish, tea at 5 pm-ish.

Ngaio1 Wed 15-May-19 09:46:23

Lunch - midday. Tea at 4 p.m. Dinner at 7.30 (ish), Supper is either 9.30 p.m. ( hot drink and a couple of biscuits) or Kitchen Supper Hot but casual meal around 7.30. The evening meal here is NEVER called tea!!

GabriellaG54 Wed 15-May-19 09:46:22

In the Northern City where I lived from 1- 23yrs old it was breakfast dinner and tea at approx 8am 12.30pm and 5.00pm.
Supper about 7.30- 8 before bedtime was a hot milky drink and a plain biscuit or bread and jam after a bath and pjs.
Now, living in the South, it's b'fast lunch and dinner. hmm 3 meals. A meal by any other name doth taste as sweet.

Nanny123 Wed 15-May-19 09:33:25

Its tea time in our house and lunch at lunchtime

BlueBelle Wed 15-May-19 08:24:10

Greenfinch you quote lunch to coincide with lunchtime news but what about dinner to coincide with school dinners and dinner ladies, they surely aren’t lunch ladies ???

It is all to do with where you were raised and what class you were raised in No working class man had lunch ? and also a generational thing I never heard anyone talk about ‘having lunch’ in my childhood but then eating a gravy dinner at night didn’t happen either

TwiceAsNice Wed 15-May-19 07:44:36

When my children were growing up it was breakfast dinner and tea. Now they are adults with their own children it is breakfast lunch and dinner . The grandchildren also call it that so I try to remember to do the same so I don’t confuse them but don’t always manage it. In my own childhood my mother always said the same as me

M0nica Wed 15-May-19 07:31:26

Eating at a table is completely non-negotiable as far as I am concerned. I loathe both breakfast in bed and a meal on a tray. My capacity for spilling food, if not on me, on the floor or in the bed is unlimited.

I am not even that keen on picnics unless I can sit on a chair with my food on a table. The table doesn't have to be laid, nor do other people have to be with me.

In fact I actually prefer to sit at a table to do almost anything, read the paper or a book, even have an occasional afternoon snooze sitting at a table with my head on my arms on the table rather than sit in an arm chair. I am currently sat comfortable sat at my desk to writethis post.

kittylester Wed 15-May-19 06:40:34

I was just going to mention eating at the table, teetime.

We always eat whatever it is called at the table except on Saturdays when we eat from a tray in the lounge/sitting/drawing room. Though sometimes we eat in the playroom. We rarely eat in the dining room.

Teetime Wed 15-May-19 06:00:44

Our evening meal after 6 is dinner and always eaten at the table even though we both grew up having tea at about 5.

moggie57 Tue 14-May-19 23:14:29

sundays when my grandchildren and daughter come for dinner. (after church) yes i say dinner (vegetarian i am ).they say lunch.told them dinner at nannies is at 1pm...tea is about 4pm......and they love tea as i always have jam sandwiches and cake. i have stretched to peanut butter or chocolate spread....after dinner they have fruit......

annep1 Tue 14-May-19 22:58:25

Breakfast 7.30-9am
Lunch 1.30 pm
Dinner or tea 6pm.
Supper (dont always have ) around 9.30-10pm.
Same on Sundays.

Esther1 Tue 14-May-19 22:22:10

Breakfast - any time before midday
Lunch - food of any sort eaten around midday
Tea - sandwiches/cake - late afternoon
Dinner - hot meal anytime from 6 pm
(Not usually ALL eaten!)

Greenfinch Tue 14-May-19 21:55:18

Breakfast at 8am(or 7 if we are on the school run)
Lunch at 1pm to co-incide with the lunchtime news.
Dinner at 6.30 pm.
Weekdays same as weekend.

rubysong Tue 14-May-19 21:53:23

If it has gravy on it, it is dinner, regardless of the time.

jura2 Tue 14-May-19 21:52:39

Depends who with, and which part of the country - every option possible in our life lol

Framilode Tue 14-May-19 21:45:48

Lunch then supper, unless eating out and then it's dinner.

callgirl1 Tue 14-May-19 21:24:39

Dinner around 1 pm, Tea about 7 pm, supper is anything we have just before bed.

Tangerine Tue 14-May-19 21:23:01

Lunch for meal eaten in the middle of the day. If eating a main meal in the evening, I'd call it dinner. If having a snack such as egg on toast, I'd call it tea.

Mamissimo Tue 14-May-19 20:59:09

Snap GrannyGravy ?