In another blog post I talked about the subject of drinking cups of tea. Today I want to look at other uses for the word ‘tea’ and yes, we can eat our tea.
Possible Meals in the Day British Style
Breakfast
Breakfast in England is ‘breakfast’. Also known as ‘brekkie’. But if breakfast is left too late and is eaten closer to lunchtime then sometimes it is called ‘brunch’.
Elevenses
We have ‘elevenses’ which is a tea with biscuits (cookies) or a coffee at around (you guessed it) 11 am.
Not everybody does that, Barnet Boy and I have a cappuccino or cup of tea around 10.30 am when we stop what we are doing and sit and chat but we rarely eat anything then.
At work some people have ‘tea breaks’ where they stop and have a cup of tea and perhaps a biscuit but a lot of people just get a cup (or increasingly these days a mug) of tea and take to their desk to carry on work and it is not set around 11am more when it fits in with what they are doing. Did you know that British workers have the right in law to a 20 minute break within a six hour shift that is referred to as a tea or lunch break but also referred to as elevenses?
Lunch – or is it dinner?
Then we have ‘lunch’ or ‘luncheon’ but this is where it starts to get complicated as some people call it ‘dinner’ (I think it is a working class divide thing or maybe North and South?). Doesn’t help that the meals that children have at lunchtime at school are called ‘school dinners’. But when the kids take their own meal with them we call it a ‘packed lunch’. It has also been known as ‘tiffin‘ which is an Indian English word which comes from days of the British Raj but you don’t hear that phrase used much these days (and tiffin didn’t necessarily mean a light lunch it could have been a full blown dinner). But then tiffin started to be used to mean an afternoon snack…
What Is Afternoon Tea?
‘Afternoon tea’ is tea with biscuits or a piece of cake or small sandwiches (you guys must have heard of cucumber sandwiches?). ‘Cream tea’ is tea with scones, jam (jelly) and cream, or a piece of cake (both if you are gutsy). That is usually mid afternoon.
It is an old notion now, with people at work there isn’t time it tends to be seen as a luxury thing to do and people go out for afternoon tea/a cream tea to a special cafe or tea room (a cafe that serves tea in tea pots with tea strainers, cakes etc) and traditionally the sandwiches are small triangles with the crusts cut off and tea is served in fine china with a cup and saucer.
My grandmother told me once about the afternoon tea she had in a tea room in Alfriston in Sussex where the cakes and sandwiches were served on a three tiered silver cake stand. She thought that was great. More recently I see these cake stands are quite fashionable to have at home.
What is a tea dance?
A ‘tea dance’ comprises and afternoon tea with dancing and originates from the 19th century.
Have you ever been to a tea party?
A ‘tea party’ is when people come to your home to drink tea with you, a social event.
Eat our tea
‘If you had ‘dinner’ at lunchtime then you have ‘tea’ at dinner time but some people called it ‘high tea’. But in this case ‘tea‘ refers to a light savory meal perhaps cheese on toast, not a full cooked meal. Coming home from school, having eaten our school dinner at lunchtime, we were always told that our ‘tea’ was ready and Mum had made sandwiches or toast with jam. ‘Tea’ can be used different to the north and south of the country.
Dinner – or supper?
The evening meal can be called ‘tea’ as we have seen or dinner. Dinner usually refers to a full blown meal. If it is quite late in the evening some people call it ‘Supper’. Though actually ‘Supper’ can also be a light snack before bedtime.
There. All clear? Jolly good.
This article was originally posted in 2016 and updated and republished 2 March 2022.
Before you go
My name is Dorothy Berry-Lound an artist and writer. You can find out more about my art and writing at https://dorothyberryloundart.com.
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