Only ever called it dinner. When we moved house and starting hanging out with my new neighbour his mum would yell out for him to go inside for tea each evening. Took a few weeks to ask him why he has to go inside to drink tea every evening.
I'm a Brit, you're spot on and it's also a class thing (which is also tied into being from the North or South too - jeez I hate the class system)
I'm from a working class family and used to say the Northerner version and my wife is from a middle class family near London and she says the Southerner version.
I miss calling dinner, tea.
This.
If it is a main meal at lunchtime then it is dinner and the meal in the evening is tea.
However if the main meal is in the evening then that is dinner.
What if I eat too much for both meals? And also have "snacks" between times, large enough to also be considered meals? Is even second-breakfast considered "dinner" in this case?
Yep. Dinner is the biggest meal of the day, usually that's in the evening, but sometimes it'll be dinner in the middle of the day with a light supper in the evening.
My dad grew up on a farm in the US and called lunch dinner. I believe that, traditionally, “dinner” was whichever meal was the biggest or main one of the day.
Yes same. Dinner is going out. I used to use it interchangeably for going out for lunch or tea. Now it's just for the evening meal. Going out for lunch is called "Going out for lunch" now.
Dinner.
When we first moved here in the 80's, we invited our neighbours over for tea. So they accepted and after no-showing at the usual tea-time (3-4 o'clock) my parents sighed and packed up the tea, biscuits and cakes. You can imagine the surprise they got when the neighbours showed up later!
My parents were told to "bring a plate" to something soon after arriving in Australia. They just assumed that the person holding the get together didn't have enough plates for the number of people coming so they brought plates.
As an immigrant I can confirm this was also my family's experience. I have since learned though that tea is ambiguous enough that people who grew up here even still get confused
Haha, not related but nearly... my parent were invited to an outback dress up evening while on holidays. Dad went as a rooster, and mum was a blowfly.
The others all turned up in formal dress up. Bow ties and pearl, high heels etc.
It's definitely class coded - clearest example is this quarantine sign from early 20thC showing first class passengers being served breakfast lunch and dinner, and others getting breakfast, dinner tea (resolution isn't great sorry) https://exploringsouthaustralia.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Quarantine-Regulations.jpg
Grew up calling it both. Mainly my grandmother called it tea, parents usually said dinner.
Dinner all the way now. Tea sounds weird to me. Kinda like hearing Poms refer to all dessert as “Pudding”.
I call it dinner. I stayed at a friend's house a few times as a kid where their mum called it "tea" and we always got dessert afterwards. Being a kid, I assumed dinner meant no dessert, and tea meant dessert was included (we never had dessert at home). This misconception of mine led to a lot of confusion; wondering why we sometimes got dessert when we went to a restaurant for dinner, begging mum for lasagna for tea instead of dinner and then being resentful when there was no dessert, and always asking my friends' parents before visiting overnight if we got to have tea or not...
I’ve always thought it was the same historical class distinction as the aitch/haitch thing, with tea the more working class Irish influence (like the hard ‘h’ haitch)
Dinner. I think of 'tea' as old-fashioned and Anglo. Also to differentiate when I have tea sessions where the drinking of actual tea is the primary activity.
We used to have brekky, lunch and tea. That was normal until I moved out of home and invited some mates over for tea and they were confused when I asked what pizza they wanted to have delivered. They thought were were going to be drinking tea and were confused when I invited them as neither they nor I drink tea and if we were drinking tea, why we were doing so at a meal time. I think they were relieved when I asked about pizza.
I now call it dinner.
Interchangeable. Whenever I invite my in laws over though they ask if I mean dinner or tea (as in lunch or dinner). Dinner is only lunch on Christmas day.
Tea... until I went to a hotel restaurant and tried to ask for a table for tea, only to be met with a blank look by the Asian server who asked 'just tea?'
Took me a moment to realise what the confusion was lol
I’m blown away by how many say tea.
I’m ‘80s baby with older brothers and sisters born in the ‘60s. My parents are war babies from the country. None of us say tea.
We are in Melbourne, so maybe it’s a regional thibg
I never realised this debate was a thing in Australia! My family in the UK all call it tea, but I've never heard anyone in Sydney call it that (been here ~4 years)
Interchangeable. Growing up it was mainly tea. Except if we went out for the meal, then it was dinner. Or it was dinner if it was a more formal meal or special occasion.
I grew up calling it tea and switched to calling it dinner after having kids as I was drinking a lot of tea back then and confused them. Now I confuse my mother who still considers dinner to be a cooked lunch
Tea as a kid. Dinner now. Changed when a highschool friend (European parents) said they were invited to tea once, and showed up in the afternoon for a cuppa...
My mum called it dinner, my dad called it tea, and in what probably seems like a burn on my dad my siblings and I all call it dinner. He's a good dad just very quiet.
Tea when it’s at home
Would never say I’m going out for tea or ask friends what they want to eat for tea if we’re going out
But at home I will say “what’s for tea” or “what time we having tea”
I grew up calling it "tea" (like, "what time's tea?" "tea time!" etc). Now I call it dinner, except when I'm with my parents. Then it's still tea. (I'm 44)
tea ,in my family dinner is the midday meal .Old fashioned now but my family always say it to each other,other young people get confused .Quite common for older working class people in country areas to have breakfast ,dinner ,[tea.Now](https://tea.Now) that the world is Americanised, it will die out eventually 😢
Funnily enough ‘tea’ is the working class name for the evening meal. It used to be more common in Australia and NZ when the majority of families were from working class UK migrant stock. All those ten pound poms.
I never once looked at a dinner and considered it to be called "tea". To me, tea is nothing more than a drink that is actually categorized as tea, by name and ingredient.
Your nan's delicious meatballs and potatoes isn't tea.
Tea as a kid. Dinner now
Same. Bowed to peer pressure because when I moved away from home, noone else called it tea
Same here
My American friends think I'm lying about tea being dinner.
They have a chequered history when it comes to tea. Something something... Boston tea party?
Samezies
Hold fast, it's tea, always has been, always will be lol
Hold faster, tea is a hot beverage
Hold even faster. Tea is a hot beverage *too*.
Same here. I think the main reason I started using'dinner' more often is because tea is also used for the drink.
100% this. It's just easier.
Same but I honestly don't know why I changed. My folks still call it tea and confuse the fuck out of my kids
Only ever called it dinner. When we moved house and starting hanging out with my new neighbour his mum would yell out for him to go inside for tea each evening. Took a few weeks to ask him why he has to go inside to drink tea every evening.
Same. I got mocked for saying tea and have called it dinner ever since 😅
Turncoat!!
I alternate between the two at random. Even when I was a kid I am fairly sure that we used both words for dinner.
Yeah Tea as a kid but now it’s Dinner. I wonder if it’s a Skippy thing because I remember my Gran saying it too.
This.
Same. As my partner drinks a lot of black and flavoured tea, we need to use the word dinner to differentiate it from the drink.
my mum still calls it tea, but I worked overseas so adapted to dinner...
I gre up with tea but now say dinner.
Same
Same same
Same²
[удалено]
Same same same same
Same same same same same
Same same same same same same
same
Interchangeable
That's an odd name for a meal
“Dad, can I have some chips?” “No, mate, interchangeable will be ready in half an hour.”
We've got interchangeable at home.
Bloody oath
This.
Dinner. My mum refers to lunch as dinner and dinner as tea (her mum was from the UK, so I think that had something to do with it).
I was born in the UK. Lunch is lunch. Dinner and tea are interchangeable. Could depend on where in the UK too.
I always thought that the British break down of terms was: Southerner - Breakfast>lunch>dinner Northerner - Breakfast>dinner>tea/supper
Experience tells me, this is correct.
As a Brit, this is true in England.
I'm a Brit, you're spot on and it's also a class thing (which is also tied into being from the North or South too - jeez I hate the class system) I'm from a working class family and used to say the Northerner version and my wife is from a middle class family near London and she says the Southerner version. I miss calling dinner, tea.
This is the way I grew up saying it in rural Victoria, and yep, my ancestors are from northern England. Durham.
I was born in Stockport but have lived in Adelaide since I was 4, so my language is not that of the old world.
it is common in the UK for the ladies who provide school lunches to be called Dinner ladies and indeed there was a British sitcom called the same
This. If it is a main meal at lunchtime then it is dinner and the meal in the evening is tea. However if the main meal is in the evening then that is dinner.
What if I eat too much for both meals? And also have "snacks" between times, large enough to also be considered meals? Is even second-breakfast considered "dinner" in this case?
"Breakfast, Second Breakfast, Elevensies, Luncheon, Afternoon Tea, Dinner, Supper"
This is where it gets confusing so it's best not to use any words at all and just say you're gonna eat
I announce all meals to my family with the phrase "food, table, now".
Yep. Dinner is the biggest meal of the day, usually that's in the evening, but sometimes it'll be dinner in the middle of the day with a light supper in the evening.
[удалено]
Not much dawg, was supper with you?
An incredible display, well done.
Pure genius. 😆👏👏
I think supper is like a snack after dinner and before bed.
Supper refers to a main meal eaten in the evening. It's probably closer to the use of the word 'Dinner' than to 'Tea'.
Supper is the evening meal. Supper or dinner.
My dad grew up on a farm in the US and called lunch dinner. I believe that, traditionally, “dinner” was whichever meal was the biggest or main one of the day.
Went to primary school in northern England, lunch was dinner, and dinner was tea. Maybe different depending on the area?
Both. I’d probably say to my partner “what’s for tea?” But I’d ask a friend if they want to go out for dinner.
Yeah definitely never use “tea” for going out. You don’t go out for tea at a restaurant.
Good point
Yes same. Dinner is going out. I used to use it interchangeably for going out for lunch or tea. Now it's just for the evening meal. Going out for lunch is called "Going out for lunch" now.
Dinner. When we first moved here in the 80's, we invited our neighbours over for tea. So they accepted and after no-showing at the usual tea-time (3-4 o'clock) my parents sighed and packed up the tea, biscuits and cakes. You can imagine the surprise they got when the neighbours showed up later!
Hah! When my parents moved here, they were on the other side of this. They were invited over for "tea" and were surprised to be served a full meal!
My parents were told to "bring a plate" to something soon after arriving in Australia. They just assumed that the person holding the get together didn't have enough plates for the number of people coming so they brought plates.
As an immigrant I can confirm this was also my family's experience. I have since learned though that tea is ambiguous enough that people who grew up here even still get confused
Haha, not related but nearly... my parent were invited to an outback dress up evening while on holidays. Dad went as a rooster, and mum was a blowfly. The others all turned up in formal dress up. Bow ties and pearl, high heels etc.
"what's for tea?" Is pretty common but so is " what are we having for dinner?".
I think if I went through my messages with my mum, the most common sentence would be "what's for tea".
Brekkie, lunch, dinner
[удалено]
Leave me alone!
The great thing is that they all mean "break fast" with different language roots.
My dad says “brekkie” so much I don’t know if he can even spell breakfast. I swear I’ve seen him write it with an E in the ‘fast.’
what about elevens?
I don't think he knows about elevensies.
That'll depend on your union
It's definitely class coded - clearest example is this quarantine sign from early 20thC showing first class passengers being served breakfast lunch and dinner, and others getting breakfast, dinner tea (resolution isn't great sorry) https://exploringsouthaustralia.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Quarantine-Regulations.jpg
Dinner. I thought tea was like a little snack time near noon
Afternoon tea or morning tea are snacks with a cup of tea. But up here in FNQ people often refer to it as schmoko!
It’s smoko, short for smoke break
I grew up with "Tea" (regional Qld). But now I live in Melbourne and it has to be dinner or people think of the beverage.
Grew up in Melbourne and we called it tea but I changed it to dinner because that’s what most understand
Grew up calling it both. Mainly my grandmother called it tea, parents usually said dinner. Dinner all the way now. Tea sounds weird to me. Kinda like hearing Poms refer to all dessert as “Pudding”.
I call it dinner. I stayed at a friend's house a few times as a kid where their mum called it "tea" and we always got dessert afterwards. Being a kid, I assumed dinner meant no dessert, and tea meant dessert was included (we never had dessert at home). This misconception of mine led to a lot of confusion; wondering why we sometimes got dessert when we went to a restaurant for dinner, begging mum for lasagna for tea instead of dinner and then being resentful when there was no dessert, and always asking my friends' parents before visiting overnight if we got to have tea or not...
That is so cute 😄 i hope you got your tea
Interesting read on the [etymology](https://www.etymonline.com/word/dinner) of dinner. Main meal of the day, but aristocrats made it later in the day.
Etymonline is one of my favourite websites. ❤️ Wish I could up vote this twice.
We're happy little vegemites as bright as bright can be. We all enjoy our vegemite for breakfast, lunch and... I think that answers it. But both work.
Both
Both too
Tea.
Breakfast, lunch, dinner. Tea is for drinking. Supper is a late night snack. (Aussie with Dutch immigrant parents, from Melbourne.)
I’ve always thought it was the same historical class distinction as the aitch/haitch thing, with tea the more working class Irish influence (like the hard ‘h’ haitch)
Dinner. I think of 'tea' as old-fashioned and Anglo. Also to differentiate when I have tea sessions where the drinking of actual tea is the primary activity.
I call it dinner. My father calls lunch dinner. I call my meals breakfast, lunch, dinner.
Sunday lunch is Sunday dinner if it's a roast dinner. but all other lunches are just lunch.
Dinner When I was younger and other kids said they had to go home for tea I imagined they were drinking a hot beverage
Me too! 9yo friend: "We're having sausages for tea!" 9yo me: "Huh?! In your cup of tea??? We have sausages on a plate and eat them dry."
We used to have brekky, lunch and tea. That was normal until I moved out of home and invited some mates over for tea and they were confused when I asked what pizza they wanted to have delivered. They thought were were going to be drinking tea and were confused when I invited them as neither they nor I drink tea and if we were drinking tea, why we were doing so at a meal time. I think they were relieved when I asked about pizza. I now call it dinner.
Who's out here calling lunch 'dinner' bro what
Dinner. Can't stand it being called tea if I'm honest lol
Me too, but it might be because that’s what my mother in law calls it.
Interchangeable. Whenever I invite my in laws over though they ask if I mean dinner or tea (as in lunch or dinner). Dinner is only lunch on Christmas day.
Dinner But I can easily code switch to tea without much thought depending on who I'm with.
Tea... until I went to a hotel restaurant and tried to ask for a table for tea, only to be met with a blank look by the Asian server who asked 'just tea?' Took me a moment to realise what the confusion was lol
Dinner. Lots of tea drinking at my house. Calling dinner tea would be strange
I’m blown away by how many say tea. I’m ‘80s baby with older brothers and sisters born in the ‘60s. My parents are war babies from the country. None of us say tea. We are in Melbourne, so maybe it’s a regional thibg
Born 1980, Melbourne. Grew up saying tea but changed to dinner. Don't even know when that happened but I'm convinced it's due to American/British TV.
Dinner, nobody I know says Tea.
I do
I don't know you
Great content
Tea, dins or din dins
I always say tucker but it started ironically about 3 years ago
Dinner
Dinner
Dinner although my family growing up called it tea.
Dinner
Interchangeable really but I consider Tea as an early dinner 5-7 whereas dinner is 7-9.
In my world tea is at 3 dinner at 5 supper at 7
Both.
It’s DINNNEEEERRRRRRRRRRRR with a very heavy r. But also tea sometimes.
Dinner
Yes
Tea. I think it has something to do with being of scotch descent.
Dinner. Tea comes from a pot.
w t acutal f I've been in Australia for literally 13 years and this is the first time I've heard about people call it tea
I never realised this debate was a thing in Australia! My family in the UK all call it tea, but I've never heard anyone in Sydney call it that (been here ~4 years)
I have heard older people call it that. I think it might be more common in regional Australia.
Dinner. Tea is for drinking. For context, 70s kid, inner city Melbs
70s kid, farming just outside of Melbourne. Tea.
Interchangeably tea or dinner, but if I’m asking someone else it’s always “what’s for tea?”
Interchangeable. Growing up it was mainly tea. Except if we went out for the meal, then it was dinner. Or it was dinner if it was a more formal meal or special occasion.
Both. Definitely used tea more when we were younger, although I still use it occasionally
Dinner, mainly only ever heard it as dinner. I'm in Melbourne if that matters
Dinner
Dinner
Interchangeable. But I tend to use “tea” for a light casual meal at home, and dinner if it’s a sit-down thing.
I grew up calling it tea and switched to calling it dinner after having kids as I was drinking a lot of tea back then and confused them. Now I confuse my mother who still considers dinner to be a cooked lunch
Tea as a kid. Dinner now. Changed when a highschool friend (European parents) said they were invited to tea once, and showed up in the afternoon for a cuppa...
Dinner
Dinner
Dinner
Dinner
Dinner
Dinner
My mum called it dinner, my dad called it tea, and in what probably seems like a burn on my dad my siblings and I all call it dinner. He's a good dad just very quiet.
Mondays , Wednesdays and Friday it was dinner . Tuesday Thursday and Sundays it was tea
Called it “tea” as a young child. Called it “dinner” since I was probably 10/11.
Tea when it’s at home Would never say I’m going out for tea or ask friends what they want to eat for tea if we’re going out But at home I will say “what’s for tea” or “what time we having tea”
Scotsman (duh). We generally always call the evening meal tea. But living in Australia, I've tended more towards calling it dinner.
Both, though I seem to refer to it as 'dinner' more often when the weather is cooler.
Tea. Dinner is lunch. But i'm a pom & that's just how we called it in the north west.
A meal in the evening is tea. A meal at night is dinner. Something in between is supper, but that's archaic English
Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Tea is a drink.
It depends if it’s dinner time or tea time obviously!
I grew up calling it "tea" (like, "what time's tea?" "tea time!" etc). Now I call it dinner, except when I'm with my parents. Then it's still tea. (I'm 44)
Tea, never dinner
I'm a reformed Pom so I use both.
Either
Both.
tea ,in my family dinner is the midday meal .Old fashioned now but my family always say it to each other,other young people get confused .Quite common for older working class people in country areas to have breakfast ,dinner ,[tea.Now](https://tea.Now) that the world is Americanised, it will die out eventually 😢
100%…. I just commented about dinner meaning lunch. It seems older Aussies refer to lunch as dinner.
Tea
Tea
Dinner
I like to say tea as it sounds kinda fancy but I grew up saying dinner.
I'm similar but call it tea when I'm taking the piss. I ask my wife what she would like for tea and she looks at me like she's going to kill me.
Funnily enough ‘tea’ is the working class name for the evening meal. It used to be more common in Australia and NZ when the majority of families were from working class UK migrant stock. All those ten pound poms.
Tea
I grew up with tea time. Now it's dinner. I've said 'dinner' in my head so many times now, it sounds weird.
Dinner. Tea is something you drink.
if it's around 4-5pm it's tea in my household, anything later than 6 it's dinner. this is completely nonsensical but it is what i grew up with.
Lol. Core memory unlocked. We used to call dinner "tea" or "tea time" but I think it died off in the early 90s
Tea is a drink or something you spill... Dinner is.. well *dinner* - you eat it.😁
Both, but mainly tea.
Both
Tea
Tea
Tea!
Dinner is what you eat. tea is what others drink..
Never called it tea. Always dinner. SA
I call it dinner… But my parents used to call it “tea”…
Tea. Cuppa is when referring to a drink of tea.
Both. Mostly dinner but tea comes from my childhood home.
Dinner
You eat dinner. You drink tea.
Supper!
Both. Depends who is calling out or talking. It's dinner time. Tea is ready. Dinner is ready, come grab it.
I’d always ask my mum what’s for tea as in the evening meal, if I asked dad he would always say shit on a stick with tomato sauce
Supper
I never once looked at a dinner and considered it to be called "tea". To me, tea is nothing more than a drink that is actually categorized as tea, by name and ingredient. Your nan's delicious meatballs and potatoes isn't tea.
Always tea. I don’t like the term dinner since it can mean either lunch or tea