A typically British dilemma: What do you call your evening meal?
There are many variations and the current "en vogue" evening meal with friends is the country or kitchen supper. Sounds a little poncy to me.
I was brought up having lunch then dinner. After all you have a brunch but you don't have a brinner (A mid-morning meal combining breakfast with lunch)! Since having children (& probably because I'm married to a Yorkshire man) I've noticed myself saying tea more and more often when talking about our evening meal. This is probably also down to the fact that "tea-time" is around 5.30 - 6 o'clock to accommodate the kid's bedtime. I guess, if we decide to eat after they've gone to bed, it's supper but we still call it dinner...
Tea and supper to me, sound like lighter affairs. Maybe an omelette, a salad or a bowl of pasta. Dinner to me is a heavier meal with more thought and preparation behind it that's served ata more adult-friendly time.
So I guess I'm saying that if it's a lighter meal and it's earlier or later in the evening it is tea or supper respectively. If you go for a more substantial meal which you sit down to eat at say 7 o'clock, it's dinner. Complicated isn't it?
And then there's the inviting of friends to share food. I don't think you invite a group of friends round for tea - although the children's friends would come for tea - and we don't invite our friends around for supper be it country or kitchen, so we do invite them round for dinner. But it's not a dinner party. No, too formal!
Any thoughts?
