Cup O’ Joe: A time to dine

Over the weekend, I posed a question on Facebook asking people what they were having for “supper.” Those from The County quickly responded with whatever it was they planned to eat. Others, mostly those not from The County or those long removed, countered with “You mean dinner?”
    My first thought was, “is there a difference?” Apparently there is, depending on what part of the world one lives in. I have to admit, it was a topic that I hadn’t given much thought to, but it intrigued me so I had to do some research.
Apparently dinner can be used as either the midday (lunch) meal or evening meal, depending on where you live. And while supper is normally in the evening, it can also mean a light snack before going to bed. But so can lunch. Who knew things could be so complicated?
For some, dinner also sounds a bit more refined than supper. I can go along with that. If we have friends over for a meal, I would invite them over for dinner. If we invite my parents over, though, it would be for supper, so as not to confuse them. Since they often eat just two meals on Saturday and Sunday, the latter normally sometime around 2 p.m., I am at a complete loss as to what to call their meal.
Of course one could also have people over for a barbecue, which can be either for lunch or supper.
To complicate matters, in Australia supper refers to a snack one has before bedtime. Breakfast, at least, remains unchallenged. It is the first meal of the day, and the most important one so I am told. But in our house, we often like to have breakfast for supper. So where does that leave us?
The words that come out of our mouths can often be confusing, misunderstood and in some cases completely wrong given the context they are said in.
While on the topic of sayings, there are a few tossed about in the office of The Houlton Pioneer Times that have me baffled. “Cool Beans,” is a phrase used quite often by Gloria Austin. I don’t know how this phrase came about to mean something was “great” because the thought of cold beans is about the exact opposite of great as far as I am concerned.
Wanda MacIlroy often tells us to stop “pooch lipping.” I have to admit, I had never heard of such a thing before coming to work here at the paper. Apparently, pouting and/or whining is considered pooch lipping, at least for Wanda. And we do our fair share of it in the office, so I can at least understand why she says something.
Joseph Cyr is a staff writer for the Houlton Pioneer Times. He can be reached at pioneertimes@nepublish.com or 532-2281.