An American has been left confused after discovering the multiple meanings of the word 'tea' in British culture. The query, posted on the Reddit community r/AskABrit, asked Britons to clarify what 'tea' refers to in everyday conversation.
The user wrote: 'Sorry for the dumb question. American here, laugh away. My question is not about "high tea" but just regular "tea." I always thought of "tea" in Britain as being like a mid-afternoon snack... But I'm reading a British novel and the author refers to going to a pizza restaurant for tea or serving the kids pasta and Bolognese for tea. That's what we'd call dinner!'
One respondent from the northwest of England explained: 'Where I live... we eat Breakfast, Dinner, Tea instead of Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner. We call tea (the drink) tea, and afternoon tea is occasional treat where you are served little sandwiches and tiny cakes alongside your tea.'
Another user added: 'Tea can mean a drink, an evening meal, an afternoon event involving scones and finger sandwiches, the above but without the sandwiches (Cream Tea), an afternoon break in a cricket match or gossip.'
The American later updated the post, saying: 'Well, this blew up! I was going to cut off the commenting but I'm learning so much from everyone! Apparently there's also "cream tea" and "beef tea" and a big debate over whether jam or clotted cream goes on the scone first? I had no idea! No wonder we dumped that tea into Boston Harbor so long ago!'
