>>>>>>>Interesting, in Wisconsin we referred to the evening meal as 'supper' but I've been in the South for so long that we call it 'dinner' now in my family. :o)
>>>>>>
>>>>>>For small town BC, and I think small town Canada it is
>>>>>>- breakfast, dinner, supper
>>>>>>For the city and young people it is
>>>>>>- breakfast, lunch, dinner
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>You hit the nail on the head. It's a rural/urban thing, not a north/south thing.
>>>>
>>>>Good morning Mike. I also think it is a young/old thing too.
>>>
>>>For me it's another one like the porridge/oatmeal thing. When I was a kid, we referred to breakfast, lunch and supper. Now I refer to breakfast, lunch and dinner. Again, I don't know why. Of course, if I'm going to be completely honest, it's really breakfast, brunch, lunch, afternoon snack, afternoon snack the sequel, dinner, after dinner snack, and before bed snack.
>>
>>After my kids saw Lord of the Rings, their cereal they call Breakfast, toast and/or Scotch pancakes they call "Second breakfast" :-)
>>
>>Lunch is midday
>>
>>When they get in from school, say up to 6:00 pm, they have "tea" (i.e. main meal)
>>
>>When I come home I call my meal "dinner"
>>
>>NOTE "Tea" cf "High Tea", which is the "traditional English 4:00 pm thing with tea (drink) and tabnabs (dainty sandwiches). BTW - we don't do it and everything DOESN'T STOP for tea.
>>
>>It seems then that where we differ from you colonials is in naming an afternoon/evening meal "tea"
>
>I've seen those sandwiches. Where do you get off calling that a 'meal'? ;)

I said, "High Tea" - that's not a meal but an afternoon snack ( "Tiffin" was the nick-name)
"Tea" is the late afternoon meal, esp. for kids coming home from school - the usual fare.

BTW, when I used to serve up high tea, when I was a steward on passenger ships, I relly got the taste for finely-cut cucumber sandwiches, with the crusts all cut off. Even cress sandwiches too.