Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Supper or dinner

So to me, "supper" and "dinner" were always interchangable.

But in the dictionary, "supper" is defined as "a light evening meal; served in early evening if dinner is at midday or served late in the evening at bedtime."

"Dinner," on the other hand, is defined as "the main meal of the day served in the evening or at midday."

So in other words, "dinner" can be "lunch" and "supper" can be "dinner."

Or, as Homer Simpson once said, when asked how he managed to gain so much weght, "I discovered a meal between breakfast and brunch!"

6 comments:

Kim Reed said...

My dad grew up working on our family farm and all the farmers called the noontime meal "dinner" and the evening meal "supper." Usually the noontime meal was the biggest of the day. My dad still gets a little confused when I tell him we're going out to dinner at night.

Mike said...

My family from the UP (of Michigan for those not familiar) always called lunch dinner and dinner supper. It was very confusing for me since born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago.
And yes, it was a big meal at lunch time and a smaller meal in the evening. I was always so hungry when I went to bed.

Eddie said...

My grandfather always confused me as a kid 'cause he'd refer to the noon meal as dinner and the evening meal as supper.

Ann (Miss Sweetstory) said...

Here in the UK "dinner" is commonly used for the midday meal...most often in school; but, there seems to be the connotation that it is a hot meal. So the kids eat either "hot dinner" or "pack lunch."

In the early evening children are commonly served "tea"; not the caffeinated beverage, but their dinner meal. Parents often eat later in the evening and refer to the meal as dinner. The term supper is rare...at least in this area.

Anonymous said...

What about linner, or lupper?

Anonymous said...

Shame on you Gael,
As a former minnesotan, like me, you should know that supper is at home and dinner is a evening meal out like at a friend's house or Restaurant.