Dinner vs supper

[Aunt Bea]

Breakfast, lunch and supper. Dinner on Sunday and holidays.

While the rest of you have a living room, we have a parlor. Regional. But we all know what we mean when we say it. At least we are all in agreement on breakfast.

When I was growing up the living room was always called the front room.

 

[forty_caliber]

To me supper is a less formal occasion than dinner. Seems like supper also has the meaning of more modest portions.

Dinner feels like 3 or 4 courses served on a clothed table with fine china and silver. While supper seems like soup and sandwich with paper plate and plastic spoons.

Usage of the terms in have changed over the years. In high Victorian speech one would "dine" at dinner, "sup" at supper, and "lunch" at luncheon.

.40

 

[Kylie1969]

Here in Australia it is

Breakfast
Lunch
Tea/Dinner
Supper (snacks a few hours after dinner/tea)

 

[MrsLMB]

Growing up it was breakfast, lunch .. then ... dinner if we ate at the table and supper if we didn't sit at the table.

Today .. it's dinner but once in a blue moon DH refers to it as supper .. I'm wondering how much of a regional thing it might be .. he's east coast and I am west coast.

 

[buckytom]

"sup" at supper, and "lunch" at luncheon.

.40

is that where t'sup came from?

 

[CraigC]

Supper was what we had on Sunday about mid afternoon. Had to do with going to Lutherin church and Sunday school. I don't have that issue anymore so now its just dinner.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

In my neck of the woods, it was breakfast, lunch and dinner, or supper. Dinner and supper were, and still are unsed interchangeably. Dinner is the big meal, unless I was at my Grandparents house. Breakfast was special. But it wasn't special unless I was staying overnight there. Normally, they had a piece of cantaloupe, or grapefruit half, with a poached egg or two. Sometimes my Grandma would eat a bowl of bread, milk, and sugar. When I was there, it was Sugar Smacks, either grapefruit, or cantaloupe, a poached egg from the poaching pan, and either pancakes, or waffles with sausage. And then, I was starving by lunchtime, and the size of kids two years younger than me. But I had enormous amounts of energy.

Even with that, supper has always been my favorite meal, and still is.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[Gravy Queen]

Here in North West England, it's breakfast, dinner , tea, supper . Supper is optional and seen as a snack , like cheese on toast , later on in the evening. I never eat supper .

 

[Ireneu]

Growing up, we had breakfast, dinner and supper. It wasn't until I moved to the Cleveland area that I heard people talking about the noon meal as lunch and the evening meal as dinner.

Because I'm not American neither English (I'm Catalan) I can't give my opinion, but I have the same problem that Jabbur. In Catalan we say "dinar" to the noon meal, and "sopar" to the evening meal. Then I become mad to translate "supper"... I never know what are you referring about! Somebody use "supper" like our "sopar" and some of you use "dinner"!
What a headache!

Anyway, I'm learning a lot! Thanks!

-Ireneu-

 

[Addie]

For me, supper is what you eat as a family at the kitchen table using the everyday dishes. Dinner is what you eat with the family around the dinning room table with the better china, cloth napkins and silverware. Your best manners were always required for the dining room.

 

[Kayelle]

The word supper, referring to the evening meal, has always sounded so "down home", old fashioned or country sounding, like a Norman Rockwell painting. It just sounds comforting to me for some reason, although I never use the term I just like the word better. Maybe I'm really a country girl at heart.

 

[Somebunny]

I agree with whoever thought it might be a regional thing. (In the US and Canada) here on the west coast of the US. I think Dinner is more common for the evening meal though some farm folks use supper, I think because of the hours a farmer keeps (having a bigger noonday meal(called dinner)

We have breakfast, lunch and dinner and sometimes brunch.

Here's food for thought, our Canadian prairie cousins have breakfast, dinner and supper and then there is often another late meal they call "lunch". I've had it many times. Especially after a wedding or other get together.

How is a person supposed to keep it all strait? I'm with others who have said they don't care what you call it , just don't call me late to it!

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Somebunny, maybe it's time we just started to call them "first meal", "second meal" and so on. Kind of like the "first sleep" and "second sleep" pattern I was in about a year ago.

 

[Somebunny]

Somebunny, maybe it's time we just started to call them "first meal", "second meal" and so on. Kind of like the "first sleep" and "second sleep" pattern I was in about a year ago.

Lol godess!

 

[jabbur]

It's been interesting to read everyone's responses. I figured it might be regional terms but also have heard the explanation that dinner was the main meal of the day. I get to play with the meaning of words in my work and need to know what they refer to so I can accurately interpret them into sign language so sometimes the way words are used just piques my curiosity.

There are times too when we just call it food! "Hey guys! Food's ready! Come and eat!" takes care of the whole confusing mess!

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Lucky I'm not still working nights...I never knew what meal I was eating.

 

[Addie]

sup·per

/ˈsʌp

ər/ Show Spelled [suhp-er]
noun 1. the evening meal, often the principal meal of the day.

2. any light evening meal, especially one taken late in the evening: an after-the-theater supper.


adjective 3. of or pertaining to supper: the supper dishes.

4. for, during, or including supper: a supper party.



Origin:
1225–75; Middle English sup ( p ) er < Old French souper, noun use of souper to sup1

din·ner
/ˈdɪn

ər/ Show Spelled[din-er] Show IPA
noun 1. the main meal of the day, eaten in the evening or at midday.

2. a formal meal in honor of some person or occasion.

3. table d'hôte.



Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English diner < Old French disner (noun use of v.); see dine

 

[chopper]

According to my Dad, it is dinner if it is at noon, and supper if it is at 5:00 p.m. If it is any other time of day (like a meal at 1:00 or 6:00, etc.) then it is just wrong.