Lunch, Dinner, Tea, Supper?

I grew up in the kind of household (in north-west England) where my dad had his main meal of the day in the works canteen and my sister and I had it at school. That meal was called dinner. We all came together in the early evening when dad got home for a lighter, but still substantial meal – egg and chips maybe, or leftover Sunday roast with mash, followed by bread and jam, cake and of course tea, which was tea. Supper might have been cocoa with a biscuit or two.

It's been a while since I worked anywhere with a canteen, although the major American bank I worked for in the 1980s had one that was well-used. I don't often have more than a bowl of soup in the middle of the day so that's my lunch. I think dinner at midday died out with works canteens.

My evening meal is still my tea. Long habit I suppose. These days I'd say dinner was an evening meal I went out for.

When I was a child 'dinner at night' was posh and we made mild jokes about it.. We were not a posh family and ate our dinners in the middle of the day.

'Lunch ' was not even mentioned. My parents made jokes about new posh ideas such as 'the lounge' instead of the drawing room. The joke about the telephone that hung on the wall in the hall was that was the lounge as everybody lounged against the wall beside the phone.

Lancashire lass here, but have lived down south and now in the midlands. Always breakfast, dinner, tea, supper. Although it’s now dinner in the evenings if we go out, or invite people in. The dog has tea.

When I was 5 and living outside Manchester I was very confused one morning when playing with a family who had moved from London. I was told it was time for me to go home because they were going to have their lunch - and steaming plates were put on the table. Lunch for us locals was the snack you had (with your bottle of milk) at playtime. Anyone else remember that?

I was brought up with breakfast, lunch, tea, dinner, supper

We didn’t have dinner ladies - we had a cook and serving ladies. Until we moved and I went to “ bigger school “ we went home for lunch, it was a small village and a lot of the children did, my mum would serve my brothers and I a cooked meal - lunch

Then after school about 4.30/5 we had tea - sandwiches/cake. At 7 supper - milk and a biscuit then bed. Mum and dad had dinner at 8 .

My husband always called it breakfast - dinner - dinner - supper 😂 and he still does, he will say “ what’s for dinner or what’s for dinner tonight “ my children say - breakfast lunch dinner supper, tea was a cup of tea and cake after school, and friends would come for dinner.

I have to admit if I was asked for dinner I would expect a cooked meal at 7/8pm or if asked for tea I would expect tea/sandwiches/cake about 4/5

Christmas is Christmas lunch, my parents thought it very odd that my in-laws had Christmas dinner at lunch time, the horror of it 😳😂

Yes , you are right I believe. It was called dinner because they were hot school dinners in the middle of the day . Then home to tea in the evening of a sandwich, fruit and cake , somewhere along those lines.

Been pondering on this (too much procrastinating from tasks I really ought to be getting on with )

I wonder if the middle of the day meal is called dinner because at school, it was always a cooked meal and usually two courses? When our children didn't have school dinners, they took a packed lunch, not a packed dinner.

I don't think I could call a bowl of soup, or a sandwich "dinner". It just wouldn't sit right.

We have breakfast, lunch and dinner here.

Bought up in England it was always breakfast , dinner and tea. Never had supper . Came to Australia still in high school and it went to breakfast ,lunch and dinner, the schools here did not serve hot dinners, so it was a home packed lunch which was originally my school dinner time . My mum though kept on making dinner on the weekends at noon and tea in the evening. When all the kids left home my parents went back to-their dinner at noon and then tea in the evening .

I have a funny story about this ... Many years ago when I was a single girl living and working abroad, I invited some friends who were also expats from Sri Lanka, for tea at 6pm.
I spent ages preparing a nice meal for them, they finally arrived around 7pm having already eaten! They were very surprised and confused to see that I had prepared a meal for them, because they thought I had invited them for a cup of tea!! 😄

SachaMac

It was always breakfast, dinner and tea around here when I was growing up, still is mostly. If I’m meeting friends at dinner time we do tend to say ‘lunch’

Same here.
I would have liked supper as well, as a child but never got it.

It's mostly a regional thing isn't it? My family were Lancashire so it was dinner and tea. Supper being something just before bed. Now I'm middle class and southern so I have lunch and dinner. Posher people than I am would call an evening meal supper. When I was a teen and dating boys from swanky schools, I realised that the posher the family, the later they ate.

The grimmest thing I heard lately was a comment on Facebook - someone said, on a Sunday, that they'd had "brekky-dins". Dear lord, I felt quite nauseous! I'm assuming they meant brunch, which in itself is bad enough!

Up 'ere in t'north we always had breakfast, dinner, tea - as did my grandparents. I don't remember the word supper ever being used in our house - if it had been it would have meant a drink and maybe a biscuit before bed.

We're still in the north and DH and I still have dinner and tea. However, I usually clarify what I mean and say that we have our main meal at mid-day. Several years ago, the first time I invited an Italian friend to come for 'Sunday dinner' she thought we meant an evening meal and as we walked out of church together (me having set the table a bit posher than usual before I set off for church!) the misunderstanding became apparent and she wasn't free at lunchtime to come so we had to re-schedule.

Madeleine45 - I hear you! That’s exactly how I live too… shove those planned meal ingredients in the fridge for another day. Something better has come along! Or, I just felt like making popcorn, eating an apple 🍎 and having a scotch 🥃! 😃

There’s a lot to be said about living alone. I’ve been blessed by living with my married family… now with divorce in my rear view mirror, I’ve been blessed with peace and quiet.
Cheers!
USA Gundy

Talking of supper - my lovely old neighbour Mrs P used to do a supper of cheese on toast on an open fire , aided by a poker . Now, come to think of it, how did she melt the cheese.? I used to go for a chat, about 9pm, while good old Mr P was at the Pub, and my husband, (now Ex) kept an eye on our sleeping kids . Those were the days !

Yorkshire here and it's breakfast,lunch and dinner in our house.A later snack or meal is supper.Only just seen this thread and it's very appropriate as I've just started reading a book called Scoff.A history of food and class in Britain and the bit I'm currently reading is the regional and class differences between what we have called meals.And yes it has highlighted that even those who ate lunch referred to school meals as school dinners and dinner ladies !

In London it was: breakfast, lunch, dinner.

You missed out High Tea (sorry to anyone who has mentioned this already).

At school, we had lunch break but took dinner money...

through my life meals have changed names and times and styles. As a child we had breakfast, dinner in the middle of the day - if ever we stayed for "school dinners" never lunches. then we went home to tea. This could be simply sandwiches or perhaps bread and butter and home made jam followed by home made cake. In the winter it might be something like smoked haddock or kippers and we loved having pikelets which we sat toasting on the fire with long forks and changing our positions as one side got too hot and then ate them with lots of lovely butter and crisp celery from the garden . My mother made jam and sometimes her own bread so bread and jam was a much nicer thing than shop sliced bread and jam. But these days there is rarely a time for that kind of tea as if you were at work it then became breakfast and probably a sandwich at lunch time and you came home to a cooked dinner so tea time was missed out My great aunt lived near Harrogate and she used to do what was called High Tea if we visited . Lovely china, all sorts of things, sandwiches scones cakes and maybe fruit salad etc. We sometimes went to the original Bettys in Harrogate where Tea was most definitely the meal of the day!!
There is not a lot to be said for living alone but at least you can choose what, where and when you eat. I am a keen radio listener and especially listen to radio 3 and 4 and so can listen in peace to Bach and postpone or eat dinner earlier. Usually I have a cooked meal in the evening but again can change to a lunchtime if it suits my timetable or there is something I especially want to do. At this time of year porridge comes into its own for breakfast and thanks to non stick and microwaves you can choose to have it because you want it and not be put off by the thought of the horrible pan to clean! The best thing is that I can intend to make something and have the ingredients and suddenly change my mind , stick them in the fridge to do the following day and just have scrambled egg on toast or soup or whatever .Also I take note of the weather and if we have a blessed sunny and mild day at this time of day it is time to ring a friend and meet for a walk and perhaps a pub lunch or collect a picnic and go off up the dales or to the coast to enjoy the day, work can wait. Now where does the picnic go ? Picnic on its own or picnic lunch or tea? Well whatever we enjoy it

I am from the north but we always had breakfast, lunch and supper. Contrary to supper being, "posh" it indicated an informal evening meal, usually taken in the kitchen.
As a very young child I used to have, "high tea" straight after school and be in bed before supper.
Dinner indicated something more formal, in the dining room, and usually involved guests, not to mention best china!
Personally I adhere to: breakfast, elevenses, brunch, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, supper, bedtime snack!

DianaLouise

I still cringe when I remember that when my son first started school inviting his friend back for tea and giving them tea and cake and when the mum arrived she thought he had been fed as she called dinner tea. Its always school lunch these days and lunch time supervisor not dinner lady. Supper seems to be a northern custom although my mum would often call dinner on a sunday supper.

I always imagine Hyacinth Bouquet serving supper rather than tea or dinner. Candlelight Suppers!

Tea, of course, was in a china cup and saucer - who can forget poor Elizabeth 😂

The change in work and work practices I think has driven the change to lunch then dinner. People worked near where the lived able to go home for dinner made by the female who did not go out to work. The style of teatime being a smaller meal enabled children's bedtimes to be catered for if early bedded or to eat with adults. Small supper.
All changed for decades, people travel further for work, women employed, schools especially secondary aren't always local, (think of all the drop offs), more takeaway options for foods basically day and night.
The workers didn't have dinner, which was a lengthy meal, in the evening, only those of certain status did. When social circumstances changed I think that's when tea became dinner and of course dinner changed to lunch. What happened to High Tea?? Loved going out for these.

Isn't there a school of thought that the change to eating the largest meal later in the evening has contributed to obesity. Maybe that is why a lot of portraits and photos show the gentry being overweight.

I still cringe when I remember that when my son first started school inviting his friend back for tea and giving them tea and cake and when the mum arrived she thought he had been fed as she called dinner tea. Its always school lunch these days and lunch time supervisor not dinner lady. Supper seems to be a northern custom although my mum would often call dinner on a sunday supper.

Breakfast, lunch, tea and supper in my childhood home. Yes it was professional middle class. However behind closed doors was a different matter. What you see is not always the reality as I know too well

All over the board here… the correct answer is what you want to call it, whenever. Fine by me.

I was raised European. Dinner always meant the “main” meal of the day. It started out being served mid-day when I’d come home from school to eat, then go back.

Then our dinner came at the end of the day, when my mother went to work part time.

As an adult (and post divorce, and recently retired) I eat at all hours of the day. My breakfast could be anywhere from 8:00AM to 12noon; my “dinner” could be anywhere from 13:00-18:00.

I generally eat only two meals a day with snacks inbetween. Plan my eating schedule around my “Luncheon Ladies” and other social gatherings. But I never go to bed on a full stomach.
Cheers!
USA Gundy

Juicylucy

Breakfast lunch dinner here

And here.
'Tea' as the evening meal always sounds northern to me. I am London born but lived abroad throughout my childhood.
My father used to come home for lunch every day and on Fridays we would regularly go out for a curry lunch. (Equivalent to Sunday lunch in the UK.
Supper is a light, informal evening meal, often taken a little later than dinner, which was around 7-7.30 pm. Tea refers to afternoon tea, a very light meal of tea and cake or biscuits or a sandwich, at around 4 pm.

Lunch is always eaten in the middle of the day but dinner? Some people mean the main meal in the middle of the day and some mean a main meal in the evening. Confusing....