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Re: [OT] British vs. American English (was Re: Wow, Evolution left me with eggs in my face)



On 2 October 2011 01:44, Lisi <lisi.reisz@gmail.com> wrote:

> I just asked my granddaughter what meal she would mean by tea and she
> said "What meal?  There isn't a meal called tea."  So it hasn't yet changed
> and is still used as I have described above.
>
> Sorry - language fascinates me!
>

And me. Down here in Devon "Tea" as a meal is as you say, with such
food as bread and butter, scones and cream, sandwiches etc.. "High
tea", on the other hand consists of a hot course, but of a lesser
quantity than a dinner or a supper meal. Perhaps soup, baked beans or
sardines on toast, or even ham and eggs. I remember fondly high tea
with my great aunt with fresh cod roe on toast.....

It tended to be a class division distinction- no doubt generations
old- to a time when candles where expensive, and so the poorer people
would eat their main meal (dinner) at midday and take their post
meridian meal in daylight, but the better off would have dinner by
candlelight. These latter would probably have had tea and perhaps
toast or crumpets mid to late afternoon.

As a child I could eat a great deal of "tea" with scones, strawberry
jam and clotted cream, and still have a hearty appetite for supper or
dinner later. Now I think that that would leave me sated to the rest
of the day!

Another interesting thing (at least to me) is the distinction between
"dinner" and "supper". Does one dine or sup in the evening (I am
assuming that no one on the list would have "dinner" mid-day!). In my
experience it would seem that the usage depends on the formality of
the occasion, with dinner being the more formal.

When receiving an invitation to supper from some friends with whom we
had dined previously (which had been black tie) I asked my hostess the
difference. Her reply was that dining was formal, and taken in the
dining room, but that supper was very informal and eaten around their
large kitchen table.

Language, culture- fascinating!

Terence


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