Seriously thoughtful I still don't understand "tea".

[obs20]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Traditionally, "tea" was a light meal people used to have about 4pm or so, to fill in the gap between lunch and dinner (which would be at perhaps 8 or 9pm). You'd have (obviously) tea to drink, and sandwiches and cake to eat.

Sort of like after school milk and cookies?

[TGS]

Originally Posted by alecE

Generally, the received wisdom was that everybody had breakfast, but sophisticated people had lunch and dinner (in that order) whilst the working classes had dinner and supper, except if you were very working class, your 'supper' transformed into an earlier 'tea' because you had to get up early the next day.

Not sure about "sophisticated", but posh! And for working class families tea had to be on the table when the man came home from work at maybe 5.30 - having done 8 hours physical labour sustained only by cheese sandwiches, (if it was the beginning of the week and there was still money to buy cheese), he needed to eat a big meal as soon as he got home. Then he might go to the pub for a few pints and have some supper when he came back at, perhaps, 10.00.

[dsvick]

Originally Posted by alecE

Oooh, the subtle distinctions of the English class and geography systems! My childhood was in middle-class west London (Ealing). There 'Tea' was (a) the drink made with tea leaves, preferably hot, iced tea permitted, tea allowed to get cold was anathematised; or (b) the earlier (and lighter) evening meal, specifically for small people who had to go to bed before 'dinner' which was the main evening meal with a hot main course.
Generally, the received wisdom was that everybody had breakfast, but sophisticated people had lunch and dinner (in that order) whilst the working classes had dinner and supper, except if you were very working class, your 'supper' transformed into an earlier 'tea' because you had to get up early the next day.
In case you thought this was too simple, there was the counter-example where my mother invited the parish priest over for...'tea', in a more elegant formulation with a strict absence of small children, who were then relegated to having a late 'supper'.

Nowadays I just settle for having an 'evening meal'.

Forget the tea, after that explanation I need a drink

[Sparrow]

One mustn't forget the paper doilies to serve the food on.

Interesting book on them at Amazon - only £795!

[GeoffC]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Was, and still is. In my part of the world (NW England), most people refer to the mid-day meal as "dinner" and the evening meal as "tea".

Originally Posted by Sparrow

Cricket matches still stop for tea in mid-afternoon.

That's when the game gets exciting ....

[neilmarr]

I went to school in the north west of England, Harry, in the quaint little market town of Wigan. In Lancashire (and Yorkshire) the local pronunciation of 'tea' was 'tay', so we kids were always in danger of a clip round the ear if we talked of 'tay'. Fahh, fahhh too working class, was that.

After twenty-five years in France, where word 'tea' is spelt thé and pronounced 'tay', I now feel like a naughty boy however I pronounce it.

And that's one good reason for drinking beer instead.

Cheers. Neil