Do you call the evening meal "dinner" or "supper"? I've always called it "dinner," but it seems to vary around the country and the world.
jerryc41 wrote:
Do you call the evening meal "dinner" or "supper"? I've always called it "dinner," but it seems to vary around the country and the world.
Dinner. Yes, of course it is a regional term.
lamiaceae wrote:
Dinner. Yes, of course it is a regional term.
So the "CA and NY" region, then.
Dinner and Supper are actually two different meals.
For farmers Dinner is the major meal of the day and is eaten near noon. In Germany, the major meal of the day is also at noon. Supper is a lighter evening meal. As a boy I spent summers on a farm where the language was just as I describe.
Most in North America eat the major meal in the evening. This meal is called Dinner with Lunch being the the lighter meal eaten near noon.
I'm from a mid-west farm where dinner was served at noon and supper at the end of the workday. During haying season, we enjoyed two lunches - one in mid-morning and another in mid-afternoon. In the morning we had toast and coffee at 4:00 AM before milking cows and a regular breakfast at 7:00 before going to school. Take care & ...
Always supper here, west of Rochester, NY. Parents, children of German descent, mid-west farmers.
The way I understand the words, "dinner" is a large meal (more food) served after breakfast. "Supper" is a meal smaller than a dinner, served in the evening.
So, you can have breakfast - dinner - supper, or breakfast - lunch - dinner, or breakfast - lunch - supper. And for some, breakfast - lunch - dinner - supper! 😳
And then there's a "luncheon", but I'll let that pass...
--Rich
Raised in rural WV the evening meal was always referred to as supper but if the family was going out for the meal it was referred to as going out for dinner. However, most people used supper as the normal choice.
At home it’s supper. If we go out, it’s dinner.
jerryc41 wrote:
Do you call the evening meal "dinner" or "supper"? I've always called it "dinner," but it seems to vary around the country and the world.
Growing up in the South, we referred to the family daily evening meal as Supper. The main meal in a Sunday, however, was called Dinner (Sunday Dinner) - it was usually had between 1 and 3 pm. The evening meal on that Sunday was referred to as Supper. Also, any formal meal where others dined together was called Dinner.
Stan
ddgm
Loc: Hamilton, Ontario & Fort Myers, FL
Olivia Walton, on Walton's Mountain, referred to it as Suppah
ddgm wrote:
Olivia Walton, on Walton's Mountain, referred to it as Suppah
Ayuh, in Maine it was the same way in my youth:
mid-day meal = Dinnah, evening meal = Suppah.
I think times have changed, however, what with all those flatlanders moving in
Dinner is the main meal of the day. It can be served around noon or later in the day.
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