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What Is an Afternoon Tea? For the Cantonese Chinese practice of "drinking tea", see, Australian and New Zealand usages of "tea", p. 209, Pool, Daniel (1993) "What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew", Touchstone/Simon & Schuster, New York, A list of significant tea houses in Britain, Alexandre Balthazar Laurent Grimod de La Reynière, "Tea with Grayson Perry. This means their small evening meal. It can just mean that you are hungry. Afternoon tea is a British food tradition of sitting down for an afternoon treat of tea, sandwiches, scones, and cake. The higher classes use ‘tea’ to mean ‘afternoon tea’ (a working-class word), which consists of tea, cake, scones(pronounced with a short ‘o’), and dainty sandwiches. When used in this context, it is eaten early evening and will often the main meal of the day on returning home from work. Earlier this month, baking expert Mary Berry reignited the discussion on how to pronounce the word "scone", stating that it should be articulated in a similar fashion to the word "gone". [1] Teatime is the time at which the tea meal is usually eaten, which is late afternoon to early evening, being the equivalent of merienda. By the end of the 19th century, afternoon tea developed in its current form and was observed by both the upper and middle classes. And when I come out to the dining room, I don't see a cup of tea, I see dinner. dinner definition: 1. the main meal of the day, usually the meal you eat in the evening but sometimes, in Britain, the…. / ˌhaɪ ˈtiː / us / ˌhaɪ ˈtiː / a light meal eaten in the late afternoon or early evening that usually includes cooked food, cakes, and tea to drink SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases Observance of the custom originated amongst the wealthy social classes in England in the 1840s,[5] as the time of dinner moved later. Other than the name, the meal is not different from those eaten as dinner or supper. Tea definition, the dried and prepared leaves of a shrub, Camellia sinensis, from which a somewhat bitter, aromatic beverage is prepared by infusion in hot water. To dine with a number of people (more than two) denotes petty bickering and quarreling. Having the butler and the footmen bring her the tools: tea caddy, the teapot, hot water and tea cups, the mistress of the house would brew the tea with her own hands. Some people in Britain refer to their main evening meal as "tea" rather than dinner or supper. However, few prove as divisive as the question of how best to describe the last meal of the day. [Towards five o'clock in the evening, the mistress of the house, in the midst of the sitting-room, makes tea herself, very strong and barely sweetened with a few drops of rich cream; generous slices of buttered bread accompany it. A list of significant tea houses in Britain gives more examples. In many modern usages, the term dinner refers to the evening meal, which is now typically the largest meal of the day in Western cultures. As may be expected, “dinner” was the overwhelmingly preferred term used in the South, while those in the North preferred to say “tea”. A tea party is a social gathering around this meal – not to be confused with the Boston Tea Party, a mid-December 1773 incident at the beginning of the American Revolution, or the 21st century political movement named after it. {{#verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}}, Dinner or tea? This is the ancient interpretation of this dream. Afternoon tea is served around 4 p.m. In Australia and New Zealand, a small informal social gathering usually at someone's home for tea and a light meal (i.e. This is how the country refers to their evening meal, Everything Roger Federer eats for breakfast, lunch and dinner, How we should actually eat scones, according to the Queen, You may not agree with our views, or other users’, but please respond to them respectfully, Swearing, personal abuse, racism, sexism, homophobia and other discriminatory or inciteful language is not acceptable, Do not impersonate other users or reveal private information about third parties, We reserve the right to delete inappropriate posts and ban offending users without notification. It simply means the main meal of the day. "It's tea time", "It's time for tea!" The term "tea" is often used among the British working classes, particularly those of the North of England and the South Wales Valleys, as signifying the main meal of the evening; this use of the word is also common in Australia. This is a more recent innovation. Create a commenting name to join the debate, There are no Independent Premium comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts, There are no comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts. it’s a bonding tool for people of all ages. Want an ad-free experience?Subscribe to Independent Premium. The term "tea" meaning a full evening meal, as opposed to a light afternoon snack with tea and cake or cookies, is never used in the United States, and most Americans are completely unaware that anyone would ever use the word with this meaning. While “dinner”, “tea” and “supper” are all commonly used phrases, a recent study has unveiled which has come out on top as the nation’s favourite term, and the results may surprise you. “High” tea “High” tea is actually dinner but has also come to mean a lavish afternoon tea. ", "On Glasgow and Edinburgh, By Robert Crawford", "Crunch time: why Britain loves a good biscuit", "It's love in the afternoon as Australians lap up 'high' tea", "History of the afternoon tea tradition from China", "Chapter XIII: Teas and Other Afternoon Parties", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tea_(meal)&oldid=996212228, Wikipedia indefinitely move-protected pages, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 25 December 2020, at 05:07. However, in most of the South of England, the midday meal is almost universally called "lunch", with "dinner" being the evening meal, regardless of social class. Tea, meaning a main meal for adults, is the word used in some parts of Britain, especially when the evening meal is eaten early. Her statement on TV show Britain’s Best Home Cook sparked a huge debate on Twitter, with one person stating: “The Queen of baking has spoken.". As a secondary meal, the timing of tea has moved over time in response to the moving later and later of the main dinner. In contrast, Fiona takes a more pragmatic approach: ‘dinner’ is the main meal whether taken midday or in the evening. [12] In most of the United Kingdom (namely, the North of England, North and South Wales, the English Midlands, Scotland, and some rural and working class areas of Northern Ireland) people traditionally call their midday meal dinner and their evening meal tea (served around 6 pm), whereas the upper social classes would call the midday meal lunch or luncheon and the evening meal (served after 7 pm) dinner (if formal) or supper (if informal). Tel est le Thé suisse dans toute sa simplicité. The English afternoon tea blend is medium body and lighter than English breakfast tea.[7]. "[6], For the more privileged, afternoon tea was accompanied by thinly-sliced bread and butter, delicate sandwiches (customarily cucumber sandwiches or egg and cress sandwiches) and usually cakes and pastries (such as Battenberg cake, shortbread petticoat tails, or Victoria sponge). As nouns the difference between teaand dinner is that teais (uncountable) the dried leaves or buds of the tea plant, while dinneris the main meal of the day, often eaten in the evening. Mais, dans la plupart des maisons opulentes, on y ajoute du café, des pâtisseries légères de toute espèce, et dont plusieurs sont même inconnues à Paris, des fruits confits ou glacés, des macarons, des biscuits, du nougat, et même jusqu’à des glaces. It combined snacks and a … While “dinner”, “tea” and “supper” are all commonly used phrases, a recent study has unveiled which has come out on top as the nation’s favourite term, and the results may surprise you. Tea (in reference to food, rather than the drink) has long been used as an umbrella term for several different meals. tea is usually about someone you know, but can also extend to celebrities random internet scandals, etc. A less formal establishment is known as a teahouse or tearoom, similar to a coffeehouse. Find more ways to say tea, along with related words, antonyms and example phrases at Thesaurus.com, the world's most trusted free thesaurus. [11]:54 High Tea is a name for the evening meal, usually associated with the working class, and is typically eaten between 5 pm and 7 pm. … [uncountable, countable] the last meal of the day, either a main meal, usually smaller and less formal than dinner, or a snack eaten before you go to bed I'll do my homework after supper. The term high tea has been incorrectly used to describe the more formal event that is afternoon tea; however, it’s properly called afternoon tea, or low tea. The most insightful comments on all subjects will be published daily in dedicated articles. Not a meal as such, but a chance to "down tools" (or get away from the computer) and relax from work for 10–15 minutes. biscuits, scones, or slices of cake or sandwiches) in the afternoon is referred to as "afternoon tea." This may occur mid-morning (see elevenses) or mid-afternoon. Another word for tea. [4] But there may be other types of both drink and food offered or eaten at home. The Duchess asked that a tray of tea, bread and butter (some time earlier, the Earl of Sandwich had had the idea of putting a filling between two slices of bread) and cake be brought to her room during the late afternoon. A filet mignon dinner with mashed potato, string beans and mushrooms. Around the second World War, the drinks were served by the workplace's tea lady, a position that is now almost defunct. Are you sure you want to delete this comment? Learn more. [2] Tea as a meal is associated with Great Britain, Ireland, and some Commonwealth countries. A tea break is the term used for a work break in either the morning or afternoon for a simple cup of tea or other beverage. Biscuits are not usually served. The great evening meal debate continues... Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. Also, it 'could' mean the speaker is asserting his authority over the listener with a firm instruction to resolve a matter, but removes the 'sting' from the instruction by adding 'over a cup of tea' and have no intention to ever have a cup of tea, but will require the listener to complete the task given or else a 'talking to' will ensue for failing the initial instruction. Of the many indicators of social class in Britain one of the most common is the choice of meals and names for these meals. The Duties of a Hostess. Gradually dinner began to migrate, amid much controversy, until by about 1900 it arrived at its present timing in the evening. In the past, high tea was an alternative to afternoon tea. This was also sometimes called a "meat-tea" in the past. You can also choose to be emailed when someone replies to your comment. To finish, it is of course unusual to have breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner, tea and supper all in one day. Due to the sheer scale of this comment community, we are not able to give each post the same level of attention, but we have preserved this area in the interests of open debate. High tea typically consists of a hot dish, followed by cakes and bread, butter and jam. From Brexit to how to properly pronounce the word ‘scone’, there are a number of topics that divide England when brought up in conversation. More generally, a high tea was and is often the last meal of the day for young children, before an early bedtime. In addition to the hard core tea addicts, many people, in general, have the habit of drinking tea after meals. It is a source of great confusion for foreign visitors. As in, "have you had tea yet? The philosopher Thomas Carlyle and his wife invited guests for 7 pm to their teas in the 1850s, although afternoon tea before dinner was also becoming established by this time.[3]. In both Australia and New Zealand, a smoko, originally meaning a cigarette break, is also used as slang for a tea break, especially for people working in manual work. To dream about having a dinner is rather rare. Dictionary.com confirms, “dinner” doesn’t necessarily refer to a specific time of day. Our journalists will try to respond by joining the threads when they can to create a true meeting of independent Premium. The most common ingredients of a light tea are tea itself, with cakes, biscuits or pastries (especially scones), bread and jam, and perhaps sandwiches; these are the ingredients of "traditional afternoon tea" meals offered by expensive London hotels. YouGov carried out a survey of 42,000 people from across the country in order to determine how they refer to the evening meal. Are you sure you want to mark this comment as inappropriate? Both supper and dinner have closely related verbs in English: sup and dine. When I was a child ‘dinner’ was the light meal in the middle of the day, whereas ‘tea’ was the main meal at around 6 o’clock. This article is instead concerned with the various types of secondary, lighter, meals called "tea". Occasionally there will be cold cuts of meat, such as ham salad. These used to be common in the UK, but these establishments have declined in popularity since the Second World War. Nowadays, a formal afternoon tea is more of a special occasion, taken as a treat in a hotel. Isabella Beeton, whose books on home economics were widely read in the 19th century, describes afternoon teas of various kinds, and provides menus for the "old-fashioned tea", the "at-home tea", the "family tea", and the high tea. The food is often served on a tiered stand; there may be no sandwiches, but bread or scones with butter and jam, or toast, muffins or crumpets. The custom of taking afternoon tea with bread or pastry was also common in some continental European areas, though such customs are not widely known in English-speaking countries. For the beverage, see, "Tea time" redirects here. High tea would be served at dinner table whereas low tea would not be served at the dinner table but on low tables within the drawing room. Here, my Aussie family constantly refers to a whole meal such as dinner, as "tea". Please continue to respect all commenters and create constructive debates. the best kind of gossip, typically shared between friends. In Australia and New Zealand, a small informal social gathering usually at someone's home for tea and a light meal (i.e. In rural areas, dinner is still used quite often for the midday meal; tea is around 6 pm, and the term supper is either a late meal at night, or food served at night at a social function, such as the town's annual Christmas dance and supper. In the US the evening meal is called dinner and is usually The earliest "tea" meals were often in the early evening, some three or four hours after dinner, or even later, after a supper and before bed. The sandwiches are usually crustless, cut into small segments, either as triangles or fingers, and pressed thin. The term high tea has been incorrectly used to describe the more formal event that is afternoon tea; however, it’s properly called afternoon tea, or low tea. However, the study didn’t just examine which word was most favoured across the country, it also looked into how answers varied according to geographical region. It usually consists of scones, clotted cream, strawberry jam, plus, of course, tea to drink. Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset. In Australia, this is commonly referred to as Devonshire Tea. ", "(Name of relative) is coming for tea", "Tea's on the table" etc. These phraseologies have fallen somewhat out of favour amongst young people. Dinner sounds more formal than supper, and guests generally receive invitations to ‘dinner’ rather than to ‘supper’. Even though tea goes into the afternoon, dinner is served between 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. threeseven/Shutterstock For many generations, UK residents have quibbled over whether their major evening meal should be referred to as "tea" or "dinner". This snack is associated with the West Country, i.e. High tea definition: In Britain , some people have a meal called high tea in the late afternoon instead of... | Meaning, pronunciation, translations and examples More than half of middle class northerners call the evening meal “tea”, alongside 67 per cent of the northern working class. [17] A BBC Radio 4 comedy series of this name was made by Graeme Garden and Barry Cryer. The existing Open Comments threads will continue to exist for those who do not subscribe to Independent Premium. Dinner: It is only the “higher echelons” of English society who call it ‘dinner’. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. You can find our Community Guidelines in full here. Until the late 18th century dinner was eaten at what we now call "lunchtime", or in the early afternoon; supper was a later and lighter meal. The British and Irish habit of dunking biscuits in tea has been exported around the globe.[18]. Moreover, 74 per cent of the middle class and 70 per cent of working class that hail from the South use the term “dinner”. It's been a debate from both a regional and a class-based perspective, but because "tea" also refers to an afternoon repast, the lines get a bit blurry. In Australia and New Zealand the evening meal is still often called tea, whereas the midday meal is now commonly called lunch. Just over a third of the participants preferred the use of the word “tea”, while only five per cent referred to the meal as “supper”. The evening meal in her household was served fashionably late at eight o’clock, thus leaving a long period of time between lunch and dinner. A clue to the historical role of supper is given in its etymology. The results revealed that “dinner” was the most popular word, with 57 per cent of the participants choosing it over the others. It was common during that period of time for employees to be offered a large meal at 1pm, and so this quickly became known as ‘dinner time’ as it became the largest meal of the day. Or is it dinner, or supper? However, when the workers returned home, they would enjoy a lighter meal of breads, muffins etc. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Some venues will provide butter instead of clotted cream. As a verb tea is to drink tea. [8][9][10] Afternoon tea as a treat may be supplemented with a glass of Champagne or a similar alcoholic drink. A.B.C. It allows our most engaged readers to debate the big issues, share their own experiences, discuss real-world solutions, and more. Such is the Swiss Tea in all its simplicity. In most opulent houses, however, coffee and light pastries of all kinds are added, many of which are unknown in Paris, preserved or candied fruits, macaroons, biscuits, nougat, and even ice cream.]. Now the meaning of ‘dinner’ has been a matter of discussion in my household for years. Vocabulary and Social Class. To dine alone or with your family means you will be forgiving someone or receiving forgiveness from someone. Dinner: This is dinner and eaten from early to the late evening, used in the same way around the world. See more. Definition and synonyms of dinner / tea etc is up from the online English dictionary from Macmillan Education.. Kate Fox, in her book Watching the English, says the term you use for your evening meal is directly related to your class. Tea, Dinner or Supper? When this meaning is used, the preceding meals … A stereotypical expression "You'll have had your tea" is used to parody people from Edinburgh as being rather stingy with hospitality. For a tea lover, nothing in the world can be more gratifying than a cup of tea. Anna Maria, Duchess of Bedford, is widely credited with inventing afternoon tea in England as a late-afternoon meal whilst visiting Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire. Tea: If you call it tea, and eat it around 6:30pm, you are very likely to be working class. Happiness or sadness, stress or celebration, the answer to everything is a cup of heavenly delight. While some may assume that the distinction between the two words comes down to class, YouGov has pointed out that geographical location is a more crucial factor. According to the report, competition was very tight in the Midlands, with people living in Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Herefordshire and Shropshire only slightly more likely to describe the meal as “tea”. Tea (when meaning dinner and not the drink): This is considered a mainly northern working-class term. The term was first used around 1825, and "high" tea is taken on a high (dining) table; by contrast, low tea, which was more of a light snack, was served on a low table – what would be called a coffee table in North America.[14][15][16]. Afternoon teas are often held outside the private home in commercial tea rooms, function venues, hotels, or similar. Please be respectful when making a comment and adhere to our Community Guidelines. It may equally involve coffee, and almost inevitably, biscuits. Out of favour amongst young people at someone 's home for tea! English society who call it tea and., `` have you had tea yet called a `` meat-tea '' in the afternoon is to! Know, but can also extend to celebrities random internet scandals,.! In all its simplicity Premium section, under my profile the Country in order to determine how they refer a. Citation needed ], this is commonly referred to as `` afternoon tea is a light meal ( i.e timing... 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To respond by joining the threads when they can to create a true meeting of Premium! 1900 it arrived at its present timing in the evening per cent of the classic social markers of English who! And Irish habit of dunking biscuits in tea has been a matter discussion! To be common in the afternoon is referred to as Devonshire tea. when they can to a. On the table '' etc meal whether taken midday or in the same way around the globe [... Commercial tea rooms, function venues, hotels, or slices of cake or sandwiches tea meaning dinner the... Name was made by Graeme Garden and Barry Cryer meals referred to as `` tea 's on the table etc! More than half of middle class northerners call the evening meal “ tea ”, 67. How they refer to a coffeehouse people from across the Country in order determine! Of ‘ dinner ’ has been exported around the Second World War, the meal is still called! Slices of cake or sandwiches ) in the same way around the Second War... 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