the main meal of the day, whether eaten at mid-day or in the evening. In Britain, the timing and composition of dinner has varied considerably over the centuries, and also regionally, by social class, and according to occasion. The same would be true, although sometimes with less striking differences, of other western countries, and the same principle of variation can be observed elsewhere—although the concept of ‘dinner’ begins to fray at the edges once one tries to transfer it to peoples whose languages and historical roots are quite different from those of Europe.
A modest dinner may be referred to as ‘supper’; but that term also signifies a meal eaten some time after dinner, e.g. at the end of a ball or after the theatre.
A survey of the successive changes in the hour of dinner in England was conducted with notable thoroughness and wit, drawing largely on literary sources, by Palmer (1952).
Alan Davidson was a distinguished author and publisher, and one of the world's best-known writers on fish and fish cookery. In 1975 he retired early from the diplomatic service—after serving in, among other places, Washington, Egypt, Tunisia, and Laos, where he was British Ambassador—to pursue a fruitful second career as a food historian and food writer extraordinaire. Among his popular books are Seafood of South-East Asia, North Atlantic Seafood, and Mediterranean Seafood. In 2003, shortly before his death, he was awarded the Erasmus Prize for his contribution to European culture.
Palmer, Arnold (1952), Movable Feasts, London: OUP.
Tickletooth, Tabitha (1860), The Dinner Question, London: Routledge, Warne, etc. (and fascimile repr, 1999, Totnes: Prospect Books).
