Breakfast, Dinner, and Supper

Hi, you have A Way with Words.

Hi, this is Simone from La Mesa.

Simone, welcome.

Hi, Simone.

Hi.

What’s going on?

I have a question about dinner and supper.

Oh, I’m not sure what time it’s going to be.

Fried chicken, spinach, corn on the cob, cornbread.

How does that sound?

It sounds good.

All right.

What’s your question about those words?

Okay, I was reading Anna Green Gables, and it says breakfast, dinner, and supper were very silent meals.

Breakfast, dinner, and supper were very silent meals.

And did that sound funny to you?

Yeah, it did, because when I think of supper and dinner, I think of them like just maybe supper as a synonym for dinner.

Mm—

So I was wondering why they use dinner maybe as lunch.

That’s a very good question.

And I think you’ll find that a lot of people will have that question.

How old are you, Simone?

I’m 12.

I think after this phone call, you begin to understand what most of us get, which is that dinner is often understood in parts of the country to mean lunch, the midday meal, and it’s kind of interchangeable.

There’s always confusion about this.

And it does cause some confusion, but I think the way that she laid it out there in Anne of Green Gables, it’s pretty clear that she didn’t mean that they were having the evening meal twice, right?

Mm—

And, Simone, who is the author of that book?

The author is L.M. Montgomery.

Mm—

Lucy Maud Montgomery, and she was a Canadian.

So, Grant, I wonder if there’s a Canadian difference there as well.

That’s a good question.

I have a couple Canadian dictionaries, but I don’t know that they have any notes at all on the prevalent use of dinner or supper.

I don’t really know.

But I do know that even in the United Kingdom, in Britain, particularly in the South, they’re known to be swapped around so that dinner sometimes applies to the lunchtime meal.

So, Simone, what do you think of the book so far?

It’s a really good book.

Yeah?

What do you like about it, Simone?

I like that Anne has a really big imagination and she talks a lot.

She sounds like a fun character.

She sounds like your co-host. Come on.

Yeah, she does sound like Martha, doesn’t she?

Well, did we help you or did I just make a mess of it, Simone?

Oh, no, that was very helpful.

Yeah.

All right, well, I’m glad to hear it.

Some people use dinner to mean lunch.

Okay, thank you.

All right.

You’re welcome.

Enjoy the book and good luck with your studies.

Are you going to invite us over for supper?

I’d have to ask my dad on that one.

Okay.

Is he a good cook?

Martha, you’re so bold.

Wear your southern manners.

You don’t invite yourself to someone’s house.

Hey, she said her dad was a good cook.

We’ll be there.

Okay.

All right.

Thanks a lot for calling, Simone.

Okay.

All right.

Bye-bye.

Bye.

All right.

If you’ve got a question about something you’re reading, a word that stumps you, or something that’s confusing, Martha and Grant can help you out.

The number to call is 1-877-WAYWORD.

That’s 1-877-929-9673.

Or send us an email to words@waywordradio.org.

And if you have a dinner invitation for us, we’ll bring our own flatware.