To not want to say tea instead of dinner

[Remembereveryonesayingwhatsupppp]

Grew up in the North west, child of the 80’s, teen of the 90’s
Working class dad, middle class mum, we grew up in a nice area. Mum always called ‘Dinners ready!’ Dad would call it tea, friends either called it dinner or tea, grandparents said dinner, then supper.
Anyway, as an adult and ever since, I just naturally say dinner, as in ‘What’s for dinner’ ‘Where are we going for dinner’
Ive no idea why, but when Dh says ‘What’s for tea?’ Or a friend will ask ‘Shall we take the kids out for tea?’ I just hate it 🤷🏻‍♀️Whyyyy 🤣🙈

I use both interchangeably

My DH calls lunch dinner which is far more confusing for me but it's just regional differences innit

I use dinner more often

It doesn't sound like anyone is asking you to say tea though?

Its up to them what they use

We go out for dinner, but at home it’s always ‘what do you want for your tea? ‘

Forgot some question marks there, but you get the point.
Basically am I being some kind of weird snob, but I’m really not one! It just feels weird and unnatural to say ‘Tea’ I’ve tried, I feel like it’s fake in my mouth 😅

We say dinner, and in my childhood we all said dinner but my brother and his family all say tea now. It sounds so weird to me that he swapped to saying tea in his 30s.

I use both too, unless my Canadian friends are visiting as it causes much confusion 😂

@Hugasauras Yes, also this! Forgot that, Dh sometimes calls lunch dinner and others too. I’ve always said, breakfast, lunch, dinner. My grandparents saying supper confused it more, but have never said that myself.

i always say tea and lunch is dinner. I live all the regional differences and different words or the same meanings

Is anybody actually asking you to call it that?

I think dinner is what people call their 'main' meal, and for most people that is in the evening hence dinner time being in the evening. I use dinner and tea interchangeably tho, I'm from the South West. But I have relatives who have their main meal at midday and call it dinner which I find odd!

I sympathise, my DP is from the NW and I have to ask him if he wants buns from the supermarket instead of rolls and it irrationally annoys me too! He does respond to dinner though.

You can call your meals what you want, but then so can everyone else. Couldn’t get worked up about it.

The word supper makes me irrationally angry and I can't work out why!

I always call the evening meal dinner and midday meal lunch and tea is a cuppa or afternoon cake!

I’m the same. It’s dinner.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Tea is a drink.

My Mum and Gran were very posh. My dh teases me all the time and always says “tea is ready” just because he knows it annoys me! 🙈

Because you were taught (either directly or by inference?) that people like you have dinner/supper and tea is a bit common?

@TheSmallestOneWasMadeline
Yes we had dinner at lunch time as kids. - meat potatoes etc
And then had tea after school - sandwich
And supper before bed - toast etc
Now a days we have lunch at mid day and a cooked dinner in the evenings - dinner.
But dh still calls it tea.
Then of course there's brunch - after breakfast but before lunch / dinner.
Unless you're a hobbit - then it's second breakfast.

I used to say tea. I’m surrounded by people calling their main meal supper. To me supper is cocoa and a biscuit. I compromise on dinner.
It’s irrational to care what other people say, but I share and understand your reluctance to go with the flow if it just means something different to you.

Of course the mid day meal can be dinner, otherwise why would they have ever been dinnerladies?

Because you have picked up the idea that it’s WC to say tea (this is broadly true) and you identify as middle class??

Lots of people are like that, just tell your kids to call in dinner or supper (but don’t let them know it bothers you), and ignore what everyone else does, it’s up to them.

I think it was Jilly Cooper whose kids said ‘Mummy says toilet is a much worse word than fuck.’ It’s a v English thing.

I'm from the Staffordshire and it's breakfast, dinner and tea round here. Even if going out for a meal in the evening, I would say that we are going out for something to eat or for a meal, rather than out for dinner.

Yes supper is what you have literally as you're going to bed because tea was 5pm

Not the Staffordshire, no idea where that extra the came from!

YANBU. I know it's regional, but it feels intuitively wrong - tea is a drink!!

But I would never say aloud