Dinner, lunch or tea?

[J-2739]

Mine comes in a mug.

Mine comes in a bag...

 

[Bevan Price]

Morning - Breakfast.
Midday - depends what I am eating; cooked meal at home would be dinner; otherwise "snack" or "lunch".
Late Afternoon / Early Evening - Tea.

Fresh fruit, often eaten in afternoon - don't class it as a meal; likewise late evening, nothing more than some cold milk and maybe one Ryvita or a few nuts.

 

[Pyreneenguy]

I was invited round someone's house for a 'spot of supper' once (about 7ish). I was expecting a couple of sarnies and a packet of crisps. Was actually a full blown 3 course meal.

.

This happened to me in Ireland/ Cork last year. Some friends invited us for " a bit of supper" and we ended up eating one of the best meals we've ever had !

The same "cultural" differences apply here in France, too, especially for the evening meal which can be either 'diner' or 'souper'. Lunch is usually 'dejeuner' but some people 'dine' !

 

[backontrack]

Mine comes in a mug.

Then there's also the humble flask to consider.

 

[DaleCooper]

Then there's also the humble flask to consider.

Clever things them thermos flasks, they keep hot things hot and cold things cold. How do they know the difference?

 

[Lrd]

Clever things them thermos flasks, they keep hot things hot and cold things cold. How do they know the difference?

I've got sausages and a choc ice in mine!

 

[DelayRepay]

What time do you have "tea"? (evening meal)?

When I was growing up in South Yorkshire, mum served tea at 5:30pm which was the time dad was getting home from work. If dad was going to be late, tea was still served at 5:30 with dad's either going in the oven to stay warm or somthing else being cooked when he arrived home.

After moving to the south my meal time changed to about 7:30 - partly due to travelling time and partly due to the influence of the people I initially lived with. Now it feels very odd when I go home and revert to having "tea" at 5:30.
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This happened to me in Ireland/ Cork last year. Some friends invited us for " a bit of supper" and we ended up eating one of the best meals we've ever had !

Have I been missing out? I have been invited to supper but declined as I thought going in someone else's house in my pyjamas and dressing gown to eat a digestive biscuit while watching News at Ten would be a bit strange.
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Luncheon Vouchers survived much longer than that. We couldn't give change, though, so it buggered up your till.

When I worked at Sainsburys in the late 1990s/early 2000s we still had the occasional customer pay with Lunchon Vouchers.

And a few years after that I received some from a company as compensation when I complained about something. I remember taking them back to the Sainsburys where I used to work as I didn't know where else would accept them!
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One last point... Even though the mid-day meal was always Dinner when I was younger, on Sundays it reverted to being a Sunday Lunch.

But it's Christmas version is always a Christmas Dinner, regardless of what time of day it is eaten.

 

[Strat-tastic]

Born and bred in Birmingham, it was breakfast, dinner and tea (or supper if later).

If a light meal taken at dinner time, it could be lunch eg a packed lunch.

Now I've moved further south and everyone assaults me with the L- word all the time.

I hate the L- word

 

[ATW Alex 101]

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

Lunch being a light meal, not usually cooked so a sandwich/wrap/salad. Dinner being the main meal of the day and cooked. In the event of lunch being the main meal, then something uncooked for dinner would suffice.

Tea is a drink. To say tea is a meal is absurd.

 

[fowler9]

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

Lunch being a light meal, not usually cooked so a sandwich/wrap/salad. Dinner being the main meal of the day and cooked. In the event of lunch being the main meal, then something uncooked for dinner would suffice.

Tea is a drink. To say tea is a meal is absurd.

No it isn't, people have Hamburgers with no Ham in them. It is all down to use of language.

 

[DaleCooper]

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

Lunch being a light meal, not usually cooked so a sandwich/wrap/salad. Dinner being the main meal of the day and cooked. In the event of lunch being the main meal, then something uncooked for dinner would suffice.

Tea is a drink. To say tea is a meal is absurd.

To say dinner is a meal is absurd, it doesn't make a din.

 

[Seacook]

Tea is a drink. To say tea is a meal is absurd.

Tea is a plant.
Or perhaps 'tea' is a word with several meanings, and a refusal to acknowledge that is an indication of being... um, out to lunch.

 

[DaleCooper]

Tea is a plant...

...and an actress:

Téa Leoni http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000495/

 

[Strat-tastic]

Tea is a type of towel.

 

[507021]

Tea is a type of towel.

This is the best response I've seen to this thread so far.

 

[mikeg]

The use of lunch and tea tends to offer the least ambiguity, so is superior in that sense. However, despite being a Northern monkey I refer to lunch and lunchtime and dinner in the evening.

 

[A Challenge]

TEA is Tees-side Airport Station.

Anyway for me:
BREAKFAST: Morning 07:00 to 09:00
LUNCH: Cooked or 'cold', 12:00 to 13:00
DINNER: A cooked meal in the evening
TEA: A 'cold' meal in the evenin

Have B L D or B L T (but remember, I don't like lettuce)

 

[DaleCooper]

I think I see why this controversy has arisen, it's simply that some people choose to have lunch at dinnertime and dinner at teatime. Why shouldn't they? They're only deceiving themselves and not harming anyone else.

 

[A Challenge]

I have my 'main meal', call it what you will, either in the middle of the day or the evening.

 

[Bevan Price]

No it isn't, people have Hamburgers with no Ham in them. It is all down to use of language.

Yes - Supper could be a person who sups (a liquid)

 

[DaleCooper]

Breakfast in America - Supertramp
Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast - Pink Floyd
TV Dinners - ZZ Top
Dinner dinner dinner dinner Batman!
Tea for the Tillerman - Cat Stevens
Supper's Ready - Genesis

I can't think of one for "Lunch"; that must prove something.

 

[Butts]

Yesss... a midnight snack!

(Most not at midnight, but okay...)

I'm Scottish and was brought up with breakfast, lunch and dinner. Supper was something that was occasional and usually just before bedtime. However, we moved to a small village on the Moray coast and here it's breakfast, dinner (denner) and supper. Tea is often used for the evening meal.

Suprised you didn't mention "High Tea" just to throw a spanner in the works.

Found mainly in the NE of Scotland but also extending into Morayshire (I've had one in Cullen) this is often more like a banquet. You often get sandwiches, cakes and a Cooked Meal such as Fish and Chips or Skirlie and Stovies et al - served around 5/6pm.

A lot of Hotels used to do it at one time. Probably equates to a combination of Afternoon Tea and Evening Meal.

 

[Starmill]

I might call the meal in the evening dinner or tea, but owing to the origin of the word 'dinner' as meaning 'main meal' from French 'dîner' and 'disner' in old French, I don't use that for lunch because I don't think it's considered the main meal in Britain. We were not supposed to call them 'dinner ladies' at our school - not least because that was slightly insulting to those of them who were male. Instead they were either 'lunchtime organisers' or simply 'the cook'. It wasn't even known as 'school dinners' very much either, more often being referred to as part of the Free School Meals scheme or just 'canteen food' - the quality of it was universally derided.

 

[GusB]

Suprised you didn't mention "High Tea" just to throw a spanner in the works.

Found mainly in the NE of Scotland but also extending into Morayshire (I've had one in Cullen) this is often more like a banquet. You often get sandwiches, cakes and a Cooked Meal such as Fish and Chips or Skirlie and Stovies et al - served around 5/6pm.

A lot of Hotels used to do it at one time. Probably equates to a combination of Afternoon Tea and Evening Meal.

I did consider High Tea, but I don't think I've ever experienced such a thing. Is it not considered to be a wee bit posh, and therefore not for the likes of plebs like me?

 

[Butts]

I did consider High Tea, but I don't think I've ever experienced such a thing. Is it not considered to be a wee bit posh, and therefore not for the likes of plebs like me?

The name may conjure up visions of the Savoy or the Dorchester but it is available in "plebian" hostelries,

It's not smoked salmon and caviar more skirlie and cullen skink

 

[DaleCooper]

cullen skink

I know a skink is a kind of lizard but how do you "cullen" one?

 

[Butts]

I know a skink is a kind of lizard but how do you "cullen" one?

It's not a Lizard, but a fish based thick soup

 

[Bletchleyite]

I have my 'main meal', call it what you will, either in the middle of the day or the evening.

When working from home I tend to have it in the middle of the day, it's easier than rushing around before whatever I intend doing in the evening, and I can still be working while it's cooking.

 

[prod_pep]

For me, it's breakfast, lunch and tea.

Dinner and tea are interchangeable terms for the evening meal, while supper is something light eaten just before bed (generally a bowl of cereal).

On a related note, I've just come back from the USA, where the main course of a meal is referred to as an 'entrée'. A word translating as 'entrance' being used in this context is rather silly.

 

[Butts]

For me, it's breakfast, lunch and tea.

Dinner and tea are interchangeable terms for the evening meal, while supper is something light eaten just before bed (generally a bowl of cereal).

On a related note, I've just come back from the USA, where the main course of a meal is referred to as an 'entrée'. A word translating as 'entrance' being used in this context is rather silly.

Aping the Frogs no doubt