# What Do You Call the Afternoon and Evening Meals **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 20, 2010, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-afternoon-and-evening-meals/536781 "2010-04-20T19:13:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-afternoon-and-evening-meals/536781/21 "2010-04-20T22:44:58Z")
Lunch and dinner, although the occasional Sunday family get-together at the sister-in-law’s is supper. ---
**Author:** ![Ludy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Ludy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludy)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-afternoon-and-evening-meals/536781/22 "2010-04-20T23:01:10Z")
The noon meal is lunch and dinner and supper are interchangeable. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-afternoon-and-evening-meals/536781/23 "2010-04-20T23:13:46Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > All my life my mother has confused me by using “dinner” to sometimes mean lunch and sometimes supper - as far as I’m concerned dinner is another word for supper. I don’t know anyone else to ever call lunch anything but lunch. My mother does that too. I think the lunch/dinner/supper vocabulary confusion did arise from class distinctions. In the Victorian era the dinner hour slipped from afternoon to evening among the upper classes and ladies got into the habit of eating a lighter meal around noon called [luncheon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunch) (which it gradually became acceptable for gentlemen to eat). Downstairs the servants kept eating their “dinner” in the afternoon and would eat a light supper after finishing cleaning up after their masters finished dinner. The middle classes eventually followed and the working classes were the last to make the switch. ---
**Author:** ![Hedda\_Rosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hedda_rosa/32/1204_2.png) [@Hedda\_Rosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hedda_Rosa)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-afternoon-and-evening-meals/536781/24 "2010-04-21T00:44:18Z")
The meal we eat at mid-day is lunch and for the evening meal dinner and supper are used interchageably. ---
**Author:** ![madrabbitwoman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c37758/32.png) [@madrabbitwoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madrabbitwoman)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-afternoon-and-evening-meals/536781/25 "2010-04-21T00:57:29Z")
Dinner or lunch for midday meal Tea or dinner for evening meal Supper is what you have late at night as a snack ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-afternoon-and-evening-meals/536781/26 "2010-04-21T01:02:28Z")
Lunch is in the late morning/afternoon or the second meal of the day. Dinner is in the evening or the third meal of the day (unless I’ve slept late and had breakfast for lunch). Supper is another word people use for dinner. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-afternoon-and-evening-meals/536781/27 "2010-04-21T01:02:37Z")
Breakfast, Lunch, and Supper, respectively. Dinner was what the WASP family with money ate. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-afternoon-and-evening-meals/536781/28 "2010-04-21T01:31:19Z")
Obligatory dialect map: [http://www4.uwm.edu/FLL/linguistics/dialect/staticmaps/q\_96.html](http://www4.uwm.edu/FLL/linguistics/dialect/staticmaps/q_96.html) ---
**Author:** ![Lobot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@Lobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobot)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-afternoon-and-evening-meals/536781/29 "2010-04-21T01:33:27Z")
Lunch and tea. So I had to choose the last option. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-afternoon-and-evening-meals/536781/30 "2010-04-21T01:51:47Z")
Pretty much what **Tastes of Chocolate** said. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-afternoon-and-evening-meals/536781/31 "2010-04-21T02:19:37Z")
The distinction **Tastes of Chocolate** made is one with which I am unfamiliar. Dinner and supper are interchangeable words to me, although I would use the word “dinner” 100% of the time myself. I was born in California in 1978. My parents were also born in California, in the mid-40s. ---
**Author:** ![IaMoDiNaRy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@IaMoDiNaRy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IaMoDiNaRy)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-afternoon-and-evening-meals/536781/32 "2010-04-21T02:27:06Z")
This is how it is in the south: When you’re at work - Lunch is the noon meal. When you’re at home - Dinner is the noon meal. Sunday Dinner for instance. When inviting someone out for an evening meal, it’s acceptable to say Dinner or Supper. Supper is the evening meal no matter where you are. How is that for confusing? Now that I live out west, I had to learn to call the noon meal Lunch and the evening meal Dinner all the time. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-afternoon-and-evening-meals/536781/33 "2010-04-21T02:49:17Z")
When I was growing up, Dinner was served one time a week, Sunday after Church, approximately at 11:30. Once a month, it was a special breakfast type meal. Pancakes, Waffles, Omelettes, with some sort of breakfast meat (bacon, sausage, ham, etc.) Growing up, I really don’t think I ever ate meat for “breakfast” unless we were on vacation and eating out. And at age 49, I seldom eat meat for breakfast. ---
**Author:** ![GreedySmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a698b9/32.png) [@GreedySmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreedySmurf)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-afternoon-and-evening-meals/536781/34 "2010-04-21T03:33:57Z")
Good to see I’m not the only one who eats _Lunch_ and _Tea_. Although Dinner and Tea are pretty interchangeable. Tea is shortened from Teatime, and I think it might be a Commonwealth thing. I’ve never used the word Supper. You do very rarely encounter it in Australia, where it would normally mean a light meal eaten quite late at night. ---
**Author:** ![luv2draw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/46a35a/32.png) [@luv2draw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/luv2draw)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-afternoon-and-evening-meals/536781/35 "2010-04-21T03:39:21Z")
Lunch = midday meal Dinner = evening meal EXCEPT when I was working retail and whenever I got my meal break I called it Lunch, even if I was on the closing shift and ate at 6pm. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-afternoon-and-evening-meals/536781/36 "2010-04-21T04:15:29Z")
> [@luv2draw](#): > > Lunch = midday meal > Dinner = evening meal > > EXCEPT when I was working retail and whenever I got my meal break I called it Lunch, even if I was on the closing shift and ate at 6pm. 😃 Yep, lunch break was lunchbreak on the clock, no matter it was suppertime. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-afternoon-and-evening-meals/536781/37 "2010-04-21T04:26:30Z")
In case you were interested in demographics, I’m a 51 year old grandma, I’ve lived in Anchorage for 40 years. Everyone I know calls the noon meal lunch and the evening meal beer. Oh wait! That’s just my coworkers 😃 Folks around here call the evening meal dinner. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-afternoon-and-evening-meals/536781/38 "2010-04-21T06:09:00Z")
Always been a Lunch/Dinner guy. Mostly everyone I know too. The only time I’ve ever used dinner for noon/afternoon was for a large family gathering (usually a Sunday), but the food is usually what you’d prepare for dinner anyway. “Supper” just sounds too family-formal, southern, or old-fashioned to me for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-afternoon-and-evening-meals/536781/39 "2010-04-21T06:36:45Z")
Lunch - midday meal Dinner/tea - evening meal ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-afternoon-and-evening-meals/536781/40 "2010-04-21T09:18:58Z")
> [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](#): > > Lunch is always at noon/afternoon > Supper is always in the evening. > Dinner is a main meal, and can been noon or evening. > > So normally, I have lunch and dinner. If I’m having a bunch of people over for a large meal on Sunday afternoon, then we have dinner and supper. I grew up having lunch and dinner, and getting confused when my playmates’ mothers would call them home at noon to have dinner. Mostly, people who have dinner at noon, or in the middle of the day, have a large meal, usually with hot dishes. Lunch and supper may or may not involve hot dishes, and are usually lighter meals than the dinner meal. Sandwiches are perfectly acceptable for lunch or supper, but dinner needs at least a hot meat dish and a hot veggie dish. It might or might not involve other hot dishes. Or at least this has been my observation. Rural folk tend to have dinner in the middle of the day, and then supper in the evening. Of course, I tend to throw all definitions out and just eat when I’m hungry, and not worry about what to call it. I also tend to break my meals into mini meals…that is, my husband and I tend to eat salads or a veggie or fruit snack at about 4 PM, and then eat a meal with meat and a veggie at around 6 or 7 PM. He’s starving when he gets home from work, but both of us feel that 4 PM is just too soon for the evening meal. By having a salad or veggie snack, we get another couple of vegetable servings into our diets, and he doesn’t feel like he’s going to pass out (and he’s not just being dramatic, his blood sugar IS low at that time, he checks it). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-afternoon-and-evening-meals/536781.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-the-afternoon-and-evening-meals/536781.md?page=3)