What do you call the evening meal?

[Sarahfeena]

Inspired by Parzival's comments in spitz's tea thread, I'm interested in knowing what you call the evening meal where you're from.

We always called it "dinner," but in more rural Illinois where my mom's from, dinner was the largest meal of the day, usually at noon, and the evening meal was called supper.

So, do you dine at 6:00, or do you sup?

[Rube E. Tewesday]

It was "supper" when I was growing up on the farm, and that's what I've continued to call it. My urban wife has adopted my usage, so it's what our kid says, too, unless he's talking to friends who say "dinner".

[CatInASuit]

It is Tea for me. Dinner is something slightly more formal with friends, although it is interchangeable with Tea, which to me means cooking something for me at night. Supper is a late night snack just before going to bed.

[Orual]

We always called it suppper growing up in the suburbs. But if I'm referring to going out to a restaurant, I call it dinner.

[Marsilia]

If I'm at work, no matter what the time, the meal is "lunch." 8:00 in the evening, and it's still lunch. Generally, I call any planned, sit down meal "dinner." When I was a kid, "Sunday dinner" was at lunch time, but "going out for dinner" is usually the evening meal.

[Sarahfeena]

I knew I was forgetting something. : Tea is not a term we use for a meal here in the states, unless we specifically go out for it.

[What Exit?]

Dinner and Supper are interchangeable for us, but we call it dinner more often.

[OneCentStamp]

Dinner.

[Ramses]

Dinner, yeah.

[Oliveloaf]

My mother-in-law is the only person I know who uses the word supper. It is one of many reasons she...well, anyway.

[Oliveloaf]

I don't know anyone who calls the meal "Something else."

[Trojan Man]

To me, supper is usually soup, before the main meal. Tea and dinner tend to be used interchangably, maybe like CIAS said, dinner might be a bit fancier than tea generally. Some here also call lunch 'dinner' which adds to the confusion.