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redneckhatr t1_j2c6779 wrote

I’ve always thought dinner and supper where the same meal. Was I wrong?

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KaBar2 t1_j2c6s0a wrote

In Southern states, especially in years past, the last meal of the day was called "supper," and the mid-day meal was called "dinner." I'm 72. My grandparents used these terms.

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Cacachuli t1_j2dsf0x wrote

I don’t think it was only southern states. As you can see here it was also in California. Dinner was the largest meal of the day, usually served at lunchtime. Supper was a lighter evening meal.

I think rural people had largest meal at noon. City people had largest meal after getting home from work.

So as people become more urbanized dinner became synonymous with the evening meal.

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blue_27 t1_j2dvfp0 wrote

In the Navy, onboard a ship, there is a bell and it will tell you what meal is being served in the galley. I'd been onboard for weeks (maybe months) before I figured out that supper meant dinner. Honestly, I didn't give a shit. The bell rang, and food was in the galley. I was very Pavlovian by then. One day, it just clicked that they were calling 'lunch' "dinner".

And I think those dudes in Alcatraz ate better than we did ...

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IronSnail t1_j2el3fq wrote

My family always used supper for the general last meal of the day and dinner if it was more formal

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