What do you call the evening meal?

[myshel]

I was writing a response back to an LJ friend and wondered about this question. She called it one thing, and I called it another. So, what do you call the evening meal? Also, what region of the country are you from? Are there any circumstances where you might refer to the evening meal by a different name than you usually do?

[ejs]

Dinner. I'm from CA and DH is from MA and we both call it dinner.

My grandmother, also a native Californian, calls it supper.

[myshel]

I'm also interested in what you call the noon meal of the day. Same thing as above... what do you call it? Region you're from? Special circumstances for a different name?

[PinkMartini]

Dinner. From California. Never heard anyone call it supper before.

Middle of the day meal is lunch.

[PG-rated]

Grew up calling it supper. Switched to dinner at some point - maybe in high school, because that's what it was called in the dining hall. I'm from CT.

[Fenway]

I say dinner, but dinner and supper seem to be interchangeable here in MA.

[myshel]

Answering my own questions....

The noon meal is called lunch.

The evening meal is called supper.

I only use the term "dinner" for a very large meal that occurs between the usual lunch and supper times (ex: Christmas dinner, which in my family is served around 2-3 pm). I also use the term "dinner" in phrases like "Going out for dinner" or "dinner party."

I'm from Iowa and grew up in a rural community, though I live in a city now.

[myshel]

For those of you that call the evening meal dinner, do you find that the people you know who use the term supper are from rural areas?

[allison]

From Texas and I've always heard it as dinner. I've heard of supper, but we've always called it dinner. The noon meal is lunch. I don't think I have heard anyone call it supper around here, same for where I went to college which was in a small town.

[salysaturn]

dinner, from pa

[MidwesternGal]

myshel--I'm from a small IA town too--and ITA agree with what you posted.

Dinner is a big mid-day meal/special occasion meal.

Supper is at night.

Lunch is the noon meal.

[Sophia]

I eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I never call the evening meal supper, and I've never noticed anyone around here (deep south Texas) call it supper.

[fuzzy]

I say dinner.

My parents and my ILs all say supper.

The trend I see is if you are from a more rural area or you are older, you say supper. Otherwise, it's dinner.

[alisong]

Usually dinner, occasionally tea (yeah, it's strange).

[Katy]

Grew up calling it supper. Switched to dinner at some point - maybe in high school, because that's what it was called in the dining hall. I'm from CT.I also grew up calling it supper and switched at some point - from NJ. Now it's dinner and has been for as long as I can recall.

[Ericka_Jarett]

Dinner - born and raised in NJ, living in PA now and we still call it dinner. Only time I remember hearing supper was in Alabama at my ex-bf house and at DH's grandmother's house in VA.

Lunch is the noon meal

[shopaholic]

Breakfast, lunch and dinner. I've never called it supper and I've never really heard people here (Chicago) call it that.

[SweetRed]

Dinner here, in Eastern Mass.

Growing up in Western New York, supper was whatever was the largest meal of the day. Most days supper was the late meal, but when my Dad worked second shift, supper was at noon.

[Pghchic]

Dinner and I am from PA. My husbands family calls Lunch- Supper and it drives me nuts.

[MLA]

I generally say dinner, but once in a while use supper. Midday meal is lunch.

ETA: Originally from California.

[twinnyme]

Dinner, from NYC originally - and lunch for noon meal.

DH's instinct is to call it "supper" (he's from MA) but over time in our own family it is now "dinner." Every once in a while, though, he still says "supper."

[LittleFredPunkinHead]

I have breakfast, lunch, and dinner/supper (interchangeable, although I usu. say dinner). I grew up in rural Michigan.
DH says dinner. He grew up in Long Island.

[larslobster]

Midday meal - lunch
Evening meal - supper or dinner, I use them interchangeable.

I'm from CT.

Usually dinner, occasionally tea (yeah, it's strange).

alisong - Are you Australian? I worked with a guy once who was and I remember him telling me a story about how he'd invited his new neighbors over for tea and was confused why they ate before coming over. He didn't realize that in the U.S. having someone over for tea meant serving tea (and maybe dessert), not dinner. :)

[sixlets]

DH & I both call it dinner/supper. Kind of interchangable where we're from, which is southwest PA.

Noon meal is called lunch.

[imagirliegirl]

Lunch & Dinner - Texas

I had a friend that's grandparents called lunch dinner and dinner supper. That was weird. :)

[roadrunner]

For us, the mid-day meal is lunch/ dinner and the evening meal is Supper.

I'm in Eastern Canada.

There are very strong ties in my province to England/Ireland/Scotland & France, with regards to ancestry. Many of the traditions from these regions are still upheld, as are many of the dialects. I always wondered if calling it Dinner & Supper were tied to these traditions.

[Adaya]

Dinner, originally from CT

[gardenmommy]

Lunch and Dinner, from Seattle...

You know one place I have noticed Supper a lot?? Childrens books. I swear they all call it supper A LOT (especailly Winnie the Pooh)...I tend to stumble over it or call it dinner when reading to DD so she doesn't get confused.

[KK812]

Answering my own questions....

The noon meal is called lunch.

The evening meal is called supper.

I only use the term "dinner" for a very large meal that occurs between the usual lunch and supper times (ex: Christmas dinner, which in my family is served around 2-3 pm). I also use the term "dinner" in phrases like "Going out for dinner" or "dinner party."

I'm from Iowa and grew up in a rural community, though I live in a city now.

I'm from MD and call it dinner, but we have friends that do the above. They are from the Carolinas, though.

[TracieB]

I also grew up calling it supper and switched at some point - from NJ. Now it's dinner and has been for as long as I can recall.

Ditto this, except from Indiana.

[Heidi9771]

DH and I are both from NH and MA, and we call it dinner. I am not sure what DH called it when he was a child, but I always knew it as "dinner."

I do recall many parts of Europe however, considering a correct association that I know as dinner to super.

[Jenyfer9]

99% of the time I call it dinner, but sometimes if it's a very light meal (like soup and salad or something like that) it could be supper. I'm born and raised in Chicagoland.

[TX Sweetheart]

Born and raised in Virginia... we always called it lunch and dinner except Sundays and holidays where it was dinner and supper... on those days, the biggest meal of the day was at mid-day or soon after and that was dinner... the evening meal was usually leftovers (holidays) or pizza (Sundays) so it was supper.... my parents were from Virginia (mom) and New York (dad).

Now in Texas, my ILs (both from Texas) use dinner and supper interchangeably for the evening meal and I think almost always say lunch for the mid-day meal.

DH and I always say lunch and dinner.

[Niobe]

For those of you that call the evening meal dinner, do you find that the people you know who use the term supper are from rural areas?

Pretty much. I grew up in Texas, in the city, and I've always called it dinner. But my mom's family is all very rural Texan and they call it supper. And sometimes called the noon meal dinner. Interestingly, like roadrunner brought up, they are of direct English and Irish descent. Maybe that is where it comes from.

[thompso2]

I call the evening meal dinner, unless the midday meal is a holiday meal (like Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas dinner or Easter dinner), in which case the meal after it is supper. :cool:

[Foley42]

noon meal is lunch
evening meal is supper

I'm from the SouthEast. My friends in college that were from the North made fun of me for calling it supper.

[tashaw6]

I say supper. I am from South Africa.

When I stayed in England they called lunch time dinner and dinner time tea time! Hows that for confusing!!

[mmeblue]

I use dinner and supper interchangeably for the evening meal, though I think I'm more likely to say dinner. The midday meal is always lunch to me, though I know that if someone says "Sunday dinner" (or "{holiday} dinner") they mean the midday meal.

I'm from Georgia (city, not rural).

[Lizard]

I call it breakfast, lunch and dinner. DH calls it breakfast, dinner and supper. I'm from Wisconsin, he's from rural Iowa, and his whole family calls the middle meal "dinner". It was annoying for a while, but I've grown used it over the years. :D

[1_mommy]

i am from ca, and call it dinner

[rachrich]

I also alternate the use of dinner and supper, without thinking about it. But I'd say 85% of the time I refer to the evening meal as dinner.

the mid-day meal is Lunch.

MIL calls the sunday mid-day meal "dinner." To me, eating "dinner" at 11:30AM is not really dinner. aaahhh, it drives me BONKERS!

[Sare79]

My mom has always called it supper andd I tend to use both interchangably. My MIL, who we live with calls it dinner so that's what I use mostly.

We live in Western Canada and all grew up here, but MIL is from Indonesia.

[Kay]

I grew up calling the evening meal supper, but I switched to dinner at some point and that is what I call it most of the time.

Midday is Lunch.

I am from RI.

[Scooter]

breakfast, lunch and dinner. From California.

I've got to add that the only people I've known here IRL (even native Californians) who call it supper are people whose parents call it that and are from the South or Midwest. Just my personal experience.

[Natasha]

Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Born and raised Californian, and have never met anyone IRL who calls it supper.

[Liz]

I call the mid-day meal lunch and the evening meal dinner. My Dad calls lunch "dinner" and the evening meal 'supper.'

[Photobug]

I think it has a lot to do with heritage and occupation. A lot of folks around here (ma) have breakfast, dinner/lunch and supper. altough with younger generations supper/dinner seem to be interchangeable. Most of my family were farmers so the noon meal was the biggest of the day. Most of the businesses and schools in town closed at noon so everyone could go home for lunch as late as 1970 - so in that case I think it's pretty common to have dinner (the biggest meal) at noon, and have your lighter meal (supper or tea) later. Lunch originally meant a snack - my great aunts used to fix me a 'lunch' midmorning while they were making dinner for noon - So it was weird to go to school and have lunch at 11.

[CarolinaGirl]

I'm from the south, and I call the evening meal supper. I used to call it dinner (well, once I got a little older), but my dad and I had a debate about it a while back. He said it was supposed to be called supper. I looked the words dinner and supper up in the dictionary. According to Webster, dinner is the main meal of the day or a formal banquet. As in Sunday "dinner" which is usually taken midday. Supper is the evening meal. But supper could be called dinner if it is the main meal of the day, which I suppose for most people it is.
Anyway, I call it supper as does the rest of my family.

[Leilynne]

Lunch & Dinner - Texas

I had a friend that's grandparents called lunch dinner and dinner supper. That was weird. :) That's my grandparents to!

For us, the mid-day meal is lunch/ dinner and the evening meal is Supper.

I'm in Eastern Canada.

There are very strong ties in my province to England/Ireland/Scotland & France, with regards to ancestry. Many of the traditions from these regions are still upheld, as are many of the dialects. I always wondered if calling it Dinner & Supper were tied to these traditions. It definatly is my grandparents are Irish/Scotch and the biggest meal of the day is Dinner regardless of when you eat it. It used to be more common to eat a large meal at noon and a smaller meal in the evening, especially for working class people. I think my family has the most possible meal names! Breakfast- early morning usually consists of toast, cereal or fruit, Big Breakfast- later morning includes eggs and meat, Brunch 11 am or so, includes big breakfast foods as well as salads and cold cuts with buns, Lunch- a small meal eaten between noon and 3 pm, Dinner-a large noon or evening meal, Tea- a light evening meal eaten between 4 and 6 pm, Supper- a late evening meal heavier than tea but lighter than dinner eaten between 9 and 11 pm.

Lunch and Dinner, from Seattle...

You know one place I have noticed Supper a lot?? Childrens books. I swear they all call it supper A LOT (especailly Winnie the Pooh)...I tend to stumble over it or call it dinner when reading to DD so she doesn't get confused. Winnie the Pooh is a British book, you would probably find that alot of the books you see the word "supper" in are.

[amew]

I grew up in Oklahoma and have always used breakfast, lunch, and dinner. My grandparents and much of my family (from rural Kansas) used supper. My parents grew up saying supper but seem to have converted as adults. DH had the same experience--he grew up in the DC suburbs saying breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but his grandparents and extended family in rural Ohio use supper. We live in Texas now, and I never hear anyone say supper.

I tend to think of "supper" as something you hear more in rural parts of the South and Midwest.

[tenofcups]

From PA and I call it dinner. DH does too, but once in a while a supper creeps into his vocabularly -- I think I've also heard his parents call it that once in a while, though they also mostly say dinner. I think of supper as a very rural, middle of the country, old-fashioned expression (like what they might say in Midwest rural areas or what they'd say on Little House on the Prairie).

Oddly when we got married, we had our ceremony followed by a late lunch, which I called "luncheon" on our invitation. When DH's mother saw how much food there was, she commented that it was really "dinner" -- she wasn't nasty about it at all, but I do think she was at least semi-serious, while I would never call a meal that took place at 1pm dinner (I think she comes from that big Sunday afternoon meal tradition).

[AHammer]

I say lunch at noon then dinner in the evenings.

DH's family calls the sunday noon meal "dinner" -- only on Sundays. I guess that fits with what some people say about calling the biggest meal of the day dinner.

i've read the word dinner too many times in the past few minutes. it's lost all meaning :)

[mindy75]

I'm from TN. I call it dinner now, but I grew up calling it supper. My noon meal is lunch, usually. When I was a child, we would go to my grandmother's for "Sunday dinner." That was a large lunch. It was my understanding that the noon meal, dinner, is supposed to be the largest meal of the day. Then the evening meal is called supper. At some point that changed for me but, I can't pinpoint when. I probably started calling it dinner because that's what my friends at school said. My sister still calls the evening meal supper. Also, Christmas dinner is dinner whether it's at noon or 7pm.

[strawberry4]

I call the mid-day meal lunch and the evening meal dinner - I was born and raised in the Chicago area. My MIL calls the mid-day meal dinner and the evening meal supper. It drove me crazy at first, but I have gotten used to it. DH calls it like I do! I always get confused at MIL's house about meals!!

[Ilovemygeek]

I say dinner and the only person I know that says supper is my friend who is from PA. The mid-day meal is lunch.

[pocahontas]

I call it FOOD! LOLOL!! :D

(Seriously, I am from MA and have only ever heard it called dinner...even here in MD no one says supper. But when I hear the occasional person say "supper" in passing I kinda snicker 'cuz I know they are either really old or from the country. lol :p Makes me think of "the Waltons" or "Little House on the Prairie" or something...)

[Tracie]

I usually call it dinner. But I think I grew up calling it supper, and wouldn't think anything of it if someone called it that.

(I grew up in MA, for what it's worth.)

[jesseybell]

We've always called it dinner. My ex-BF who lived in central MA called it supper. I always thought it was weird he called it that.

[EJH]

Dinner, originally from CA.

DP calls it dinner and she's from MA...though her mom calls it supper. Or shall I say "suppah" ;) Hmm.

[May27JnJ]

Breakfast. Dinner. Supper.

But I've gotten used to calling it Breakfast, Lunch, and Supper.

[amwilson615]

Supper. From West Virginia. 28 years old.

I call it dinner if I'm going out to a sitdown restaurant to eat it.

[amwilson615]

Noon meal is lunch. Unless, as PP's said it was a holiday meal. Then, at any time of day, it is dinner.

[Lauren23]

I'm from NY and everyone I know refers to it as dinner. The mid-day meal is lunch.

[kari]

Lunch and Dinner. California.

[lauren f s]

breakfast, lunch, dinner.

I grew up in East TX and live near Dallas, now. I had several friends growing up who called it "supper" though. Still do.

[LIZNKEITH]

Afternoon Meal- Lunch
Evening Meal- Dinner

DH and I were both born in the Northeast (I in NY and he in MA) but have lived in GA most of our lives.

[Happy1]

I've always called it supper. Tim has always called it dinner. In my family the main meals are "Breakfast, Lunch and Supper". If the middle meal is a big one (think Thanksgiving feast type thing) then it's "Breakfast, Dinner and Supper".

Forgot to mention I'm from Wisconsin.

Nikki :D

[alisong]

alisong - Are you Australian? I worked with a guy once who was and I remember him telling me a story about how he'd invited his new neighbors over for tea and was confused why they ate before coming over. He didn't realize that in the U.S. having someone over for tea meant serving tea (and maybe dessert), not dinner. :)Yup. It can be a little confusing if someone invites you over for tea at 5pm. Are they feeding me anything other than cookies? I was singing the Vegemite song to my 2 year old last night (as you do), and noticed that it goes "we all enjoy our Vegemite for breakfast, lunch, and tea..." so I guess that makes it official. ;)

[AttyGrl74]

Here in Colorado - I call it dinner.

But my family in Nebraska calls it supper.

[KrissyCat7]

Everyone I know calls it dinner...except for my grandparents who call it supper. They are from NY and NJ. I wonder if it is a generation thing?

[DianeCourt]

It's dinner for us.

I have lots of family in Kentucky and they call the midday meal "dinner" and the evening meal "supper."

[Kimberland30]

From Wikipedia, which might explain a lot....

Australia, Canada, and United States
In Australia and most parts of the United States and Canada, dinner is the evening repast served around 5:30 to 8:30 p.m[citation needed]. In some regions, such as the southern or rural mid-western United States, the Atlantic Provinces, parts of Saskatchewan, and Quebec, the evening repast is called supper (souper in Quebec), and dinner (dîner) refers to the noon repast, which itself would be called lunch in most parts of the United States and Canada. In the Southern United States, the main repast of the day is called Dinner, whether taken at noon or in the evening. On farms it was traditionally taken at noon. If Dinner, the main repast of the day, is at noon, the evening repast is called Supper. If Dinner, the main repast of the day, is in the evening the noon repast is called Lunch.

Mainly in Australia, tea and dinner are synonyms.


I call it Dinner and have for life (born in CA, grew up in HI and VA where I am now). My neighbor, who is Canadian, calls it Supper. Everyone in our family (MD to NY, to CA) also calls it Dinner. Even if it's a holiday meal served at 2:00, we call it dinner.

[psusna]

Noon meal
Me: Lunch (Georgia)
My mom: Lunch (PA)

Evening meal
Me: Dinner (Georgia)
My mom: Supper (PA)

My mom is the only person in our family who calls it supper. I can't think of anyone else in our family who calls it supper.

[malala]

I call them lunch and dinner.

But my DH's mom who's from rural Midwest calls them sometimes dinner (noon meal) and supper (evening meal).

[scorpioanne]

I call the noon meal lunch and the evening meal supper.
I am Canadian from Saskatchewan (with very English roots).

[isaacsmommy]

It's dinner for us.

I have lots of family in Kentucky and they call the midday meal "dinner" and the evening meal "supper."

Born and raised in KY. I say breakfast, lunch, dinner. Some do say supper, many in my family even. However, I have NEVER heard anyone call lunch dinner. Maybe in the appalachian mountains, I dunno?

[trestlegirl]

breakfast, lunch and dinner. I'm from Illinois, live in California.

My parents say the same, except on Sundays when they have their big meal at midday after church - they have Sunday dinner at noon, and supper in the evening.

[Byrd's Boogie]

breakfast, lunch and dinner. I'm from North Carolina.

[ivansbabe]

dinner

[JayJay]

Supper, I'm from Nebraska.

[kdotp]

I grew up in rural Iowa and we used dinner (midday meal) and supper (evening meal).

Anymore, I use them interchangeably depending on to whom I'm speaking.

[Kelly51703]

Growing up it was supper. As I got older my parents called it dinner. And it's still dinner.

[Squee]

In NZ we call it Tea.

[blueskygirl]

Supper usually, but it depends....I have dinner parties, invite people over for dinner, and go out to dinner. I would never say "go out for supper" or "come over for supper or "supper party." I'm from KY.

[VASLP]

I call them lucn and dinner.

However, I used to work doing home health in rural southern NC they had me all screwed up because the noon meal was dinner and the evening meal was supper. It took me a few months to actually catch on to what was going on! :rolleyes:

[coquelicot]

Being from more urban areas of KY, I usually interchange the two terms. However, my FIL calls lunch "dinner," which sometimes confuses me when he doesn't give context. DH's family is from rural western KY.

[laura]

As a kid it was supper, but now I call it dinner. When I say dinner, my parents think I mean lunch (they also say supper - from the midwest). So I say:

day meal - lunch
evening meal - dinner

For those of you that call the evening meal dinner, do you find that the people you know who use the term supper are from rural areas?

Yes, this is my experience.

[Baby Lust]

I am from the northern Midwest and we call it suppoer for the most part. Here and there you hear dinner, but mostly supper.

Noon meal is called lunch except a few people do call that dinner and evening meal supper. Strange :p

[NYN]

I say dinner and have never even heard someone refer to it as supper (though I have read it that way). I grew up in an urban area.

[maniach]

I'm from Ohio originally, grew up in Florida and I call it dinner. I vaguely recall my grandmother calling it supper, though... she's also a native Ohioan.

[Jess71903]

Grew up in TN, now live in AR
noon meal-lunch, unless it's a big special meal, then it's dinner
evening meal- supper, again, unless it's a big or special meal

I have heard them used interchangably for the evening meal, though, and have heard the noon meal called dinner, usually by older people

[KeliAnn]

Dinner, but I grew up in Georgia calling it supper. I guess I started calling it dinner in college, and it drives my dad crazy. He calls the mid-day meal dinner and the evening meal supper.