question for Brits about teatime

[Kingaroo]

I (Yank) have always thought of Tea (the meal, not the drink) as a Victorian thing -- wealthy ladies would entertain each other, and their cooks would think of clever little sandwiches and tiny cakes to serve. Young children would be served an imitation of real tea for their afternoon snack. But it sounds like modern people, even working people, still have tea. How does teatime fit into your life? Is it a break at work? An afterschool snack? Do you find yourself saying, "Okay boss, I guess I can get that done today if I skip tea." or "Don't eat that now, Junior, we're having tea in half an hour!"

[Gadget CWU]

Tea or teatime is a quaint expression & not one that's used widely in my family, however, if this is a serious question, I would use it:-

Maybe on a Sunday after having a traditional 'roast' lunch, the light meaL eaten in the evening, If required, would be described as 'tea'.

If friends are invited around for the evening for 'tea' again it would be a light meal where the hosts would not be providing much in the way of food. (tight ********)

Years ago at my school some kids were meant to make the so called 'school dinner' (Ate at lunchtime) their main meal of the day. I could not understand how some of them really tucked into the khaki slop that we were faced with. One of them explained that when he got home all he would get would be a 'tea' of bread, butter & jam!

I think also some people would describe calling for 'tea' as an excuse to fit a meal in when peckish or piggish.

I was suprised that 'tea', when used to describe a meal, is not in my dictionary so it must be a slang expression that has drifted down over the years from those old ladies that you mentioned.

In New York, years ago, I was on a 5 day flying visit & had a really good time. There was so much going on that I doubt if I had 6 hours sleep in all the time I was there. The food was amazing especially the beef! Just one custom I found strange was being given 'oat cakes' to eat 'on the side'. I politely sneaked them under the cloth on my lap only to have them served over & over again. I ended up with half a ton of biscuits on my lap when I left! I found the use of the phrase, 'Have a good day' unusal at first but it beats the pants off the surly english mumbling that visitors get from our hotel staff.

[andyjevs]

We will often refer to the evening meal as tea time as opposed to dinner time (although we do use both).
As it tends to be served at around 5pm for the kids, we seem to refer to it as tea time.
And don't forget that cricketers still stop for that very English tradition of "Tea" at around 3pm

[Drusilla]

Tea time means different things to different people in England and for want of a better description, could be described as a 'class issue'. Working class people of the early to mid 20th Century would call their main evening meal their tea and their midday meal, dinner; whereas the middle and upper classes(sorry to use such antiquated terms) would eat lunch at midday and dinner in the evening. Supper would have been a light repast at an even later time for the middle and upper classes. Tea time originally began with the French in the 1700's, but was adopted by the Duchess of Bedford in the 1840's.Victorian protocol for the upper classes set lunch time at 12.00 midday and the evening dinner between 8 and 9pm and the Duchess found herself peckish and light headed in the mid afternoon and had tea, sandwiches and cake delivered to her day room at this time. She began to invite her friends and the idea grew in popularity. When the first tea houses opened, they were considered suitable places for young ladies to attend without chaperones and the culture developed from there.

[andyjevs]

I do believe it's also a very big culture in Japan too with tea houses being a prominant feature of their stunningly landscaped gardens.
But i don't think a cup of PG tips and a chelsea bun are served in these establishments but a quaint bowl of green tea sipped whilst sitting cross legged on a sacred "rug" and meditating.

[Drusilla]

I agree with andyjevs about the tea culture in Japan. It is highly formalised and I think includes poetry reading, or did in Samurai times. I don't think tea time ever really developed as a mid afternoon snack for the working class in England, for the simple reason they couldn't afford so many different meal times. Again, the sport of cricket continues the practice and people still have tea breaks in the mid afternoon at work or school, but its rarely tea that's drunk and more likely a bar of chocolate that's eaten and not cucumber sandwiches and cakes.Whilst on the subject, is tiffin the same as afternoon tea? Do you know andyjevs?

[andyjevs]

I'm not too familliar with the word "Tiffin" except that the phrase "Tea and Tiffin" was used widely by the late Sid James in many of his carry on ! films. I honestly thought the phrase was used more as slang for an afternoon "love in" by the English elite.
I stand to be corrected though :-)

[kempie]

Tiffin is an Indian and British English dialect word meaning a light meal eaten during the day. The word became popular in British India, deriving from tiffing, an old English dialect or slang word for taking a little drink or sip.

In modern day India the word mostly is used for light lunches prepared for working Indian men by their wives after they have left for work, and forwarded them by Dabbawalas who use a complex system to get thousands of tiffin-boxes to their destinations.

Cups of tea can also be refered to as "a cup of tiffin".

[Drusilla]

Thanks kempie.

[joko]

in the north, tea is the evening meal - a proper meal, not a snack - and dinner is the midday meal

tea break is just for a cuppa though

[Artemis]

Tea as a meal I believe derives from the term 'High Tea'. This was a substantial meal eaten about 6pm. Possibly so the parents could eat with the children before they were put to bed or before leaving for the theatre etc and 'Supper' would be eaten later about 11pm.

So one would get Luncheon (Noon),Tea (4pm), Dinner 8pm.

or Luncheon (Noon), High Tea (6pm) and Supper (10pm).

[henrymullen]

We have 4 meals a day 1Breakfast mainly7-9 2Dinner mainly 12-TO 1.30 3 Tea mainly 4-6 4 finallySupper 10 - 12 The word LUNCH is a snobs name and was never used when i was younger,

[timecode]

I think the meaning of 'Tea' was originally for the elite to have 'afternoon tea (and biscuits?)' or 'cream [and] tea' on the lawn on a lazy hazy summers day. However, I think the true meaning became lost through the years and I think also it depended on the social levels of those involved in using the phrase. I recall my mother calling me in for 'tea' after school, even though it consisted of baked beans on toast, for example (I was brought up in a rough and tumble area). A cup of tea was never in site though, but either milk or orange was. Today, 'tea' simply means 'a quick bite to eat' for the evening prior to going to bed, but mainly in 'childs talk'. There again, 'supper' is also used (for older children). This is a country (UK) where dinner is in the evening but is slurred as a mid-day meal (lunch) especially in schools (dinnertime). I think it is based on the area lived in as well as the social level of the family life involved. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner should be the correct terminology for the UK, but I imagine that there are many variants of these terms presently in use. 'Tea' is for children and 'dinner' is for adults. Hmmm? What was the question again? I think I lost it somewhere. :o)

[timecode]

Oops! I meant 'sight', not site. A kickback of using cellphone messaging.