lunch, dinner,etc.

[Robert S. Wachal]

Back when I was teaching a beginning-level course in sociolinguistics, I
used to quiz rural kids on these food terms.

Back when farm work was not mechanized, one needed to fuel the human body
more often.

One started with a good breakfast, had a light lunch at midmorning, the
large meal of the day, dinner, at noon, another lunch mid afternoon, and
supper at night.

For many of us urbanites, whether we called the evening meal dinner or
supper depended in part on how fancy it was.

Also I believe their is a tendency to call the evening meal 's upper' and
middle and uppers to call it 'dinner'.

And then there is the British ordinary tea (snack) and high tea (supper)
but Americans mostly think that high tea is a substantial fancy affair.

Bob Wachal