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 🤣🙈

Let other people call.it what they want, and you too can call it what you want.

I don't understand why this is an issue? I come from a mixed northern/southern family who use a mixture of terms, and it has never caused any confusion. In fact, I don't think it's even been commented on by anyone. Never been an issue.

Nah its a brew .

Exactly!

I don't think you have the last word on what dialects or colloquialisms UK people are allowed to use though?

I'm sure you have similar in the country you come from. Words or idiomatic expressions that make little sense when taken literally, but which all the locals understand. That's how language tends to work!

I heard a poster on here say that some people are ‘professional northerners’ and I’ve never read anything more true 😂

The French will have plenty of colloquialisms of their own, I'm sure. Every language seems to, in my experience.

Well the French have male and female Verbs so....

To me, lunch and tea are the same kind of meal (something light, ie sandwiches, soup, beans on toast), but lunch in the middle of the day and tea in the evening. Dinner is the main meal like roast, fish and chips, spag bol etc but is called the same thing whether it's eaten in the middle of the day or the evening. I would never call a dinner meal tea.

Dinner is a main meal eaten in the evening to me.

If you eat your main meal at lunch time I'd call it a big lunch, and then have "tea" in the evening, tea being a light something or other in place if a main evening meal.

You call it what you like, they call it what they like

The way you word it makes it sound like you feel saying tea is beneath you and is a little snobby

We always had breakfast, lunch and supper.
Tea was in the afternoon with sandwiches, scones, cake etc.
Dinner was a more formal meal either out or with guests.
Some friends out ours used to define their evening meal as being dinner - when potatoes were involved or supper - without potatoes.

I find it very odd when people can't cope with the fact that others, who come from a different cultural/regional/class background, use different words to describe things. Why do people find it so hard to cope with difference?

There is no such thing as a "correct" accent or dialect. We have been taught that there is, as a way of enforcing upper-class superiority, but in reality the west country dialect is every bit the equal of 'RP' or of the north east dialect etc.

The variety in how English is spoken around the country is fascinating. E.g. in Scotland you also gets Scots, which is distinct from Gaelic and shares many similarities with English, but also has a lot of distinct dialect words you won't hear elsewhere.

Insisting that everyone should use the same words for things would massively diminish our cultural heritage, and the breadth of different cultures and languages across the UK. Why not celebrate the fact that we all mean something slightly different when we say "tea"!

I find it very odd when people can't cope with the fact that others, who come from a different cultural/regional/class background, use different words to describe things.

I find it’s more about highlighting their own class credentials/background. My stepmother is from a working class background with a distinctive dialect and she LOVES to point out how ‘posh’ other people are, and how ‘salt of the earth’ she is. It’s cringey.

Maybe, that's probably an element of it. I imagine it works both ways, with socially climbing people making a point of sneering at the more working class terms.

As far as I'm concerned, tea is a drink.

Im sure this happens but in my experience, much less. I think in the past it was the other way round though.

I kind of know what OP means. For some reason (I may well be on my own with this), the word "tea" (rather than dinner) conjures an image if that horrible Scouse grumpy old man in an 80s /90s sitcom who used to live on a house nextdoor to the the main family and all he used to say is "Where's me tea?" while slobbering. I can't remember what the programme was called but it was - "Eh our Avaline.., what d'yer want fer yer tea ..." Also, it reminds me of the Hovis advert and also sloppy baked beans. Bleurrrgh.

Then there are people who say something like "will you be home for tea time." Now this gives me the ick for similar reasons to above, but also what time do they mean? 4pm? 5pm? 7pm. Just say the actual time you mean fgs! If someone says this over the phone I have to hold it away from my ears. Ewww.

You have betrayed your roots and possibly your class

Grandad from Bread!

Breakfast
Lunch
Tea (cup of tea and a biscuit)
Supper

Sunday Lunch

Go out / have friends over for a posh Dinner*

*in a parallel universe - but hoping one day it might return when I have a sink in the kitchen again...

I had a boyfriend whose mother would have friends over for lunch and she would call it “having a luncheon”. OK, Hyacinth!

Exactly the same for me and I'm Scottish.

Flat no to calling it tea.

Non native English speaker.

I learned it as breakfast, lunch, supper. ‘Dinner’ was a more formal occasion, but still an evening meal. ‘Tea’ did confuse me at first, as I knew tea as chai.

I just snorted at this. I am from the NW and DH isn’t and we had this exact conversation yesterday. He asked me if I wanted some bread rolls picking up and I said ‘do you mean bread buns or like a bread roll you would put hot dogs in?’

@Cheeselog the above was for you, was smiling so much I forgot to reply!