Dinner Time

[turboped]

Yesterday a friend of mine asked if I was going to in at Dinnertime as he was going to call round, "yes" I said.

Yesterday I was out from 10am until around 4pm and home in time for dinner between 6pm to 8pm. My friend did not show up. Today he tells me he called yesterday at 12.30pm, I told him that he said he was going to call later he said no I didn't I told you I was going to call at dinnertime. He said that everyone knows dinnertime is the middle of the day, I didn't, when did this happen?

[Quizmonster]

Joko, it's not a matter of being 'correct' but simply a matter of different people's usage of a word being different. I myself can well remember when being 'gay' was not seen as at all out of the ordinary! It just meant 'happy' back then.
As Grunty points out, even Queen Victoria was in the habit of eating her main meal of the day at 1 pm and, consequently, calling it 'dinner'....(cont) AB won't let me post my answer in one piece.

[Quizmonster]

Joko, it's not a matter of being 'correct' but simply a matter of different people's usage of a word being different. I myself can well remember when being 'gay' was not seen as at all out of the ordinary! It just meant 'happy' back then.
As Grunty points out, even Queen Victoria was in the habit of eating her main meal of the day at 1 pm and, consequently, calling it 'dinner'...
(cont) AB won't let me post the complete answer in one piece.

[Quizmonster]

Part 2.
That, however, was over a century ago. If you consider the definition from TOED - the 'bible' of word-meanings - I offered earlier, you will see the phrase 'but now...' In other words, it defines 'dinner' as currently used by the two main segments of the British population.

[Quizmonster]

Part 3.
Working class folks aren't wrong to have dinner in the middle of the day, it's just that 'grander' or more upwardly mobile people no longer do. It's not an argument with a right answer and a wrong one.

[turboped]

Thank you Quizmonster for being the calm voice of reason.

[BillyBB]

Here in the Midlands I will refer to a midday or evening meal as 'Dinner' but if I mention 'Dinnertime' that would always be the middle of the day. 'Teatime' would be 5-6pm but actually more likely to eat a main meal at 9-10pm.

[joko]

er...that was kind of my point QM!

i did not say which one was 'correct' or not.

i said turboped only appeared to like the answers that agreed with him, and did not like the ones that were agreeing with his friend.

the 'correct' answer is not in question here, because it is quite clear that there is no correct answer, just a majority that disagrees with turboped - and i wondered why he refused to acknowledge that.

as you said turboped - i was just making a valid point, not having a go - but the stars do prove my point.

if you just wanted backup against your friend - thats fine - i just wondered if that was your motive for asking.

[Quizmonster]

The reason I commented further, Joko, was your use of the phrase (quote)... "answers that feel that your friend is correct" (my italics).
In my view, The Oxford English Dictionary is the word-bible and it did not use the concept of 'correctness' in any form regarding the varied usages for the word 'dinner'. I was just pointing that out, not criticising you.
But what the hey! I'll leave it at that.

[joko]

no worries QM.

[lynette54uk]

I think this may clear things up a little; regardless of class or culture! You have EITHER Lunch and then Dinner or you have Dinner and then Tea, ergo, Dinner is the main meal of the day regardless of whether you eat it around 12'ish or 6'ish. My Dad, Yorkshire of Irish descent, liked to have Dinner in the evening, but my Mother, who was born in India, prefered mid-day, then to rest in the heat of the afternoon: as I speak it is raining cats and dogs in August...

[stephyker]

there is a north/south divide here.

meal at 12 or 1pm:
south = lunch
north = dinner

meal at 6 or 7pm:
south = dinner
north = tea

it is confusing.