Dinner vs. Supper
 

Do you use the word "supper" at all?

And if so, for which meal? And which meal is dinner?

We use dinner and supper interchangeably. In our house, we generally say dinner. But my grandparents say dinner instead of lunch, usually.

And what do you all say?

(This question was inspired by my musings about what would be for dinner this evening. I hate planning dinner, so I'm just prolonging my pain by thinking of stupid things to talk about. Thanks for indulging me.)

Sorry. I suppose I should have put this in the Food & Drink section.

Or convert it to a poll.

We use Dinner.

'round these parts dinner is lunch and supper is, well, dinner. (the evening meal)

"Dinner" and "supper" are used interchangeably to mean the evening meal, unless it's a feast day like Thanksgiving, or Christmas. Then, dinner describes the largest meal of the day, which is usually in the afternoon at at some point.

Reminds me of this thread: couch, sofa, divan ???

Growing up in NC, dinner=noon meal, supper=evening meal.

From the time I was in the "big city" (still in NC for school) it was lunch & dinner.

lunch and dinner for me. Rarely use the word "supper."

Dinner. Only time I ever hear anything close to supper is when one of my cow orkers announces, "What we havin' fo' suppa-time."

I remember being confused as a child by the supper/dinner distinction in the Laura Ingalls Wilder books.

That was the common use around here as well.

lunch, dinner and then supper :D :yum:

...just don't call me late to elevenses.

I'm a fan of the verb "to sup."

In fact, I think the next time someone says "'Sup?" as a shortened version of "what's up" to me, I'm going to respond with "Dine?"

The way I grew up, it was breakfast-lunch-dinner, until Sheffield where it was breakfast-dinner-tea[-supper], where supper was a fourthmeal of small proportions.

meanwhile

The original sup cat

http://cellar.org/2009/supcat.jpg

pretenders to the throne

http://cellar.org/2009/supcat2.jpg

http://cellar.org/2009/supdog.jpg

Aragorn: Gentlemen, we do not stop till nightfall.
Pippin: What about breakfast?
Aragorn: You've already had it.
Pippin: We've had one, yes. What about second breakfast?
[Aragorn turns and walks off in disgust]
Merry: I don't think he knows about second breakfast, Pip.
Pippin: What about elevenses? Luncheon? Afternoon tea? Dinner? Supper? He knows about them, doesn't he?
Merry: I wouldn't count on it.

I've always heard dinner is the main meal of the day. Typically, during the week, supper is dinner. On Sunday, lunch is dinner.

This makes sense. To me, sup connotes a lighter meal. I don't know why. And dine seems a little more substantial. So in places where people get together and have more than just ham sandwiches or Slimfast shakes for lunch, they're more likely to call the midday meal dinner.

I wish that a longer lunch break was more typical here in the US. I think siestas and a good meal in the middle of the day are a grand idea. When I lived in Brazil, it was nice having a big spread around noon and lighter fare in the evening.

Supper is what you have before you get crucified.

That's how I was raised. Breakfast, dinner, tea and then supper. Didn't always have supper, but most nights we'd have something.

These days for me, supper basically means any cooked or prepared snack I may eat late at night. Regardless of what time I actually eat it, if I have a main evening meal I'll call it 'tea'. Dinner and lunch I use almost interchangably.

Which begs a question: why is it, in a typical northern school that the children might get a school dinner, but otherwise might take in a packed lunch?

So very English.

I find the word "supper" to be entirely weird. Mr. Clod uses it on occasion and it drives me nuts. And I was willing to accept "tea" might be as substantial as a light lunch (but still by definition included tea, you know) but "tea" as a large evening meal? No, I'm sorry. Just... no.

Breakfast (first meal); morning tea (snack around 10.30); lunch (just after midday); afternoon tea (snack around 3.30pm); dinner (or sometimes tea) (around sunset); supper (optional, just before bed time).

I am still trying to work in brunch, and maybe brunchfast as well.

So don't, plan something for supper. :haha:

Dinner is at noon, at home or out of your dinner pail.
I was reading about a hotel in Philadelphia that opened in 1860. They charged $2.50 a day for a room and 4 meals, breakfast, lunch, dinner, and supper? :rollanim:

Since I met my husband I say supper...mostly because, now to me, I hear myself making the nasally "diiiihhhhnner" and it annoys me. (yes, I annoy myself)

I don't sup. I dine.

It's always been breakfast, lunch, dinner for me and most of the time I skip either breakfast or lunch because I'm too busy to stop work.

I like the SUP cat. ;)

We use dinner for either lunch or tea. Mostly at our place dinner means the evening meal. Supper is normally a late snack after the evening meal.

There is no difference between dinner and supper for me. They are both the evening meal when talking about a typical 3-squares diet.

Essentially interchangeable but I only use "supper" when speaking to pets:
It's sup-sup-suppertime!

I like this plan. It also seems it is a good way to ward off diabetes too. Lite frequent snacking is just my cup of tea.

I like the idea of calling afternoon snacks "tea." It takes the guilt out. "What are you doing there?" "I'm having tea" I reply with pinky extended and surrounded by Doritos and Pop Tarts and Ho-Hos.

I don't really know the proper definition for English was not used in my household. However, not sure where I learned this, I recall learning that the order of the meals is breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper. Supper is the meal eaten late in the evening, like 9PM or later. My childhood was spent in Hawaii. I'm not sure if that would contribute anything to my education. :p

This is the first time I heard dinner is a term for lunch. Who says a person needs to read or travel to be knowledgeable? Just join a forum. :D

According to the rules of etiquette, sticking your pinky out is a no-no and considered very low class darlink. ;)

Maybe for those of you "down under" mydear, but not among the upper crusties here. Or so I hear anyway.

you yanks just have no real class mate. ;)

When you're top dog, there is no need for that pretentious bullshit. :p

Well I'm clearly outnumbered here, so I'll leave you folks to your delus...I mean thoughts. :D

I always stick my finger out when drinking - I have to, the bones weren't set properly when I broke my hand :)

It is déclassé though.
Or simply just out of fashion.
It used to be considered polite to tip your drink into a saucer.
And the Japanese always slurp their tea - it's the proper way to savour the taste.

Just keep your hands off my Ho-Hos (wtf?) and I'll be happy to invite you back.

Well, it's good that I don't do that, then. Would look pretty silly while downing a Miller Lite, anyway.

I have more class in my little finger than...oh, wait.

Now, are crumpets passe, too?

Crumpets?
They're old school darling.
Probably back in vogue now, because they are cheap chic chick.

Have never really been passe, because they have an even spread through the classes. Nanny would make them for Nursery Tea for the upper crust.
Grandma would provide them for High Teas in the farmhouse - middle class landowners, but with daughters who are lawyers, and doctors.
And my class of people, whose Mums would buy them from Iceland (supermarket, not country) because they're only 69p.

We were a cut above though - important at the bottom of the heap - we had ours slathered in butter, not margarine.

I prefer tarts to crumpets. :)

your mother bought you from Iceland?

Well, that explains a lot.

;)

Explains my unique accent anyway :)

I have a simplified method of terming different meals. I call all of them CHOW.

Chow always reminds me of chipped beef on toast..... S.O.S.

reminds me of a small yappy dog. Best eaten BBQd.

This was my favorite meal when I was a kid. I always asked mom to make it for my birthday. :o

Yum SOS. I still make it. I've even ordered it in a restaurant (the original Hamburger Mary's in SF), if you can believe that.

And it was gooood.

Stouffer's makes an awesome frozen version. Toast not included.

Don't be sorry. Just tell them that you're my friend and they'll understand. :)


Dinner vs Supper.

Hmmm....

I suppose, after great consideration...

"Dinner" is my favorite choice of the two. :)

Also...

It is the last meal of the day. Not to be confused with "the last supper." Oh wait! The Last Supper? :eyebrow:

On further consideration... "supper" is now my choice. :)

That is all.

For me it was:

Breakfast, Lunch, Tea, Dinner.

For my current husband, it is: Breakfast, Dinner, Supper.

But he's from Michigan and is weird. Don't listen to him.

We should all just cut the pretence and call them cake, cake and cake. ;)

Why, do you like cake?

(See what I did thar?)

In Germany its easy, 'Mittag essen' means midday eat, 'abent brot' means evening bread, -and Frühstuck means 'early bit'
'a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds' Emerson (I like the word Hobgoblin)

Cherry, are scones passe too? Common here with lemon curd or creme freche at "tea" -

Scones mostly transcend class - their German and Scottish origins mean they're acceptable to Royal Family :)

They're served as part of High Tea - a Yorkshire meal.
Also Cream Tea (served with clotted cream and jam) which is a Devon/ Cornwall meal.
Both are farmhouse traditions and really just afternoon tea, to fit in between luncheon and dinner. I bet they were for the farmwives, who'd been up earlier than the farmers to fix their breakfasts.

In modern times, if you scoff enough, you skip dinner and go on to supper - which is always nicer anyway.

They're easy enough to make - and so scrummy - that they are countrywide.
Outside of hotels/ tearooms they are still usually eaten mid-afternoon with a beverage of choice. With butter and/or jam, and cream only as a treat. Lemon curd I am aware of, but never as a scone topping. But like toast - you find what suits you :bolt:

Accepted variations - plain, fruited and cheese.

Cheese is my favourite - nom nom. Not generally served in hotels, and never spread with cream or jam!
Marks & Spencers sell really good ones separately. When Mum & Dad are away I'll get one for Grandad. I'll usually find half of one slice in the bin (means he's eaten 3/4) but I know he loves it.

As most things in England, there isn't any really proper way of doing things because we're a diverse nation. Unless you are talking the Upper Class. Their rules are (or were) rigid, and by design. Social disgrace was easy to come by and the education to avoid it was long and expensive. And honestly, their rules would make the average Brit (and American?) cringe. No please and thank you for example. No acknowledgement of service. No tips. And no bloody outsiders, down to the fourth or fifth generation.

Don't aspire, I say. Nicer down here - we'll warm the pot for you.

Scones with cheese and teacle or golden syrup are Yummo! Specially if you also slather them with butter. :)

only if you pronounce it properly ;)

Does your scone rhyme with gone or groan, SG?

Well mine rhymes with groan :P