What on earth is this mealtime snobbery about?

[Diemme]

At 6.45 this evening, DH and I went to sit outside at front of the house to have a coffee and enjoy the last of the sun - we live in a close with benches outside the houses. Almost immediately our neighbours came back from a dog walk. They chatted for a few minutes and then she said she was going in to make dinner. I mentioned just in small talk that we'd already eaten. And I swear she did a head tilt and tinkly laugh as she said gosh that's early. Then she went inside and her husband arranged his face in a sort of patronising / pitiful expression and asked why we'd eaten so early. It's not just them, ive come across it loads of times. It's as if there's a bizarre sense of superiority to eating at 8 rather than say 6.

To the posters eating at 9/10 who say they’d be starving after and snack if they are earlier - how do you not snack before? That’s so late I’d likely have snacked my own arm off...

My mother would have banished me to outer space if I ever dared to call lunch dinner or dinner tea.
I still can't hear it described at tea without cringeing

If they ATE earlier

Nah, 12pm is lunch

Lunch ladies? 🤷🏼‍♀️

Ahh don't think Victoria Wood would have gone for that.

People think it's more continental/chilled/ posh to eat at 8. Only poor, working class people eat before 7. Apparently.

We eat at 8/9 because I get home from work at 7 and DP at 7.45.

But I ate at 5.30 growing up.. eat when you want.

People also find it odd that I eat breakfast at 10, not 7. But if I ate at 7 and then 1 I wouldn't last until 8.. what do they want from me?

I've got little kids so I don't know how you are supposed to eat late and get them to bed at a reasonable hour! Fuck cooking twice!

So yeah I'll be a commoner and eat at 6.

@bookworm4 not sure, they are originally from the Philippines though so I think they've stuck to their home eating habits (like Spanish people who eat late). Plus they are both shift workers which affects things. No idea when they ate when their DC were young!

Afraid dinner and teatime were pretty interchangeable for us when I was little. We had breakfast, lunch then dinner/tea followed by supper before bedtime.Dinner/tea was main meal because parents worked and only had a short lunch time so no time for a main meal. Main meal would be between 5 & 6 pm. Supper about 9ish.

we eat dinner at 4.30 here....kids are very hungry after school and start bedtime routine at 6.00 so it works for us.
If i feel hungry at bedtime i have a biscuit with a cup of tea

You drink coffee out in front of your house ?

I have no idea why people eat so late. We are in bed by 10, so if we ate that late and went to bed at 10, I'd have indigestion all night.

I’ve always eaten early but once I’ve had my dinner I’m satisfied, I won’t eat again before bed. I hate cooking so I like to get that chore done and out of the way so I can relax for the evening. We ate at 10pm one night last week and it gave me the worst stomach pains because I went to bed an hour later. Definitely won’t be doing that again!

@Soydora & @cocomelon23 supper isn't a meal. It's a small snack.

I come from a family of much snobbishness (think hyacinth bucket territory)
I have been through having a small family where we ate our evening meal between 5-5.30pm.
It has moved later due to circumstances and now we eat at about 7-7.30pm

I slip sometimes and talk about supper but I couldn’t bring myself to call it tea in my head - that is a drink.

You drink coffee out in front of your house ?

Yes. How very dare you use your own space!

My mum eats very early, 4/5pm. I find it very odd and she’s not an early riser. I suspect it leads to snacking after dinner too.

We eat later because we don’t get home until 6/7pm. And when kids were small they took forever to settle so 9pm was common.

No idea about snobbery though.

I eat dinner with the dc at 5/5.30. Dh gets home after 8 so usually eats 8.30/9. I only eat that early because kids go to bed at 7, so dinner at 5 makes sense as they have their bath at 6.30.

You sat out the front of the house for a coffee? I would judge you far more for that than for eating your TEA early.

We try to do our evening meal around half 4 to half 5. Unhealthy to eat a big meal later and can affect sleep.

Lots of replies, it MUST be a thing. I'll read them all while you posh lot are having your dinner.

@positivevibes
Have you never lived in a close? If it’s a nice well kept one with a garden at front it’s quite acceptable to have a garden bench and sit out, the back is for hanging your washing out 😉
OP are you Scottish? I am and it’s quite ok to do this.

I eat my tea between 6:30/7pm and couldn't eat later than 7:30 because I hate going to sleep on a full stomach (lunch is usually 12:30/1pm when I'm at work or 1:30 when I'm at home).

Normally I'll have a cup of tea and if I'm a little peckish then a biscuit or piece of toast at around 9ish, but not every day.

I don't know anyone who eats later than us. Between 6-7pm seems to be standard around here.

Unhealthy to eat a big meal later and can affect sleep.

That may be so, but there's very little that those of us who work late can do about it. If like me you don't finish work until 6, then commute home. Anything before 7pm just isn't realistic.

We are in bed by 10, so if we ate that late and went to bed at 10, I'd have indigestion all night

I’ve never suffered from indigestion (no real idea what it is or what it feels like!). I can eat at 10 and go to bed at half past and it wouldn’t cause any issues.

To me eating very early in the evening (say all finished by 6.30 to 7pm) would be associated with older people.

I wouldn't want to go to dinner with friends and be told the meal was at 6.30pm- far too early, but it's all just custom, and opinion I suppose, and not a matter for judging others!