Why do some people call their dinner their tea?

Question

I never have tea with my dinner.. afterwards maybe, with a slice of cake, but not with my dinner.

Answer 1

its an old fashioned way of talking.
Breakfast.
Dinner.
Tea.
Supper
whatever for breakfast, hot meal for dinner ( noon ), tea was sandwiches & cakes etc 5pm and supper was usually soup, cereals, yes cereals or chips from the chippie.
Chef

Answer 2

I think the English call their Lunch a tea sometimes. I have never heard an American say they were having their tea when referring to dinner, which is either a very late lunch or an early supper over here.
You can associate a tea in the afternoon with some biscuits or biscotti or little sandwiches.

Answer 3

In England, the traditional course of the day would run thus:

Breakfast - cereal, porridge, bacon and eggs or kippers, toast and marmalade.

Morning coffee (10 - 11 o'clock)

Lunch at midday

Afternoon tea or 'tiffin' at 4 o'clock - tea with biscuits or cakes or small sandwiches

Dinner at 8 o'clock - people dress in Dinner suits for this


So to answer you question more succinctly - some people now (incorrectly) refer to the early evening meal as Tea

Answer 4

Dinner is the main meal of the day, whenever it is eaten. It is normally eaten in the evenings except for Sunday and Christmas day when it is served early in the afternoon so that the servants can be given the rest of the day off.
The word dinner came to England with the Normans, when it referred to a mid-day meal.

Answer 5

It's where you come from. Here in the south it's lunch then dinner and in the north it's usually dinner then tea.

Answer 6

Dinner is what you have at 12noon ish! Tea is what you have in the evening. Isn't it more of a Northern thing? I have always said dinner and tea and I am a Northerner

Answer 7

Dinner is at dinner time and tea is at tea time. Does that make sense?

Answer 8

Its an English (or british?) thing. And even there it carries a social stigma (tea is appearently a lower class word)

Answer 9

i have always called my tea, dinner thats what it is when you come in from work

Answer 10

i call dinner something you eat at 5 pm when you are out with friends..... its supper if you eat at home. and lunch is at noon...

i have tea with every meal so i cant confuse that one