Some of this nations greatest orators hail from the South; politicians, pastors, radio talk show hosts, both past and present. Maybe it's something in the water. But even the "everyday man" will go to great lengths to engage in the verbal gymnastics, to attempt to add clarity to cloudy conversation.
My friend David, who is something of a mixture of sage counsel and local historian, received an email asking him to clarify the meaning of a word. Here is what he received:
Uncle David, I need your input as to the following. I figure you are the only person I know that really has the answer.
Breakfast is breakfast
Lunch is lunch
The evening meal is supper?
What is dinner? Please advise. MS
I mean, this is certainly one of the burning questions of life. We have all wrestled with this timeless conundrum and typically have allowed the question to slip back beneath the waves of conscious thought, unanswered. But that is not the SSOP (Southern Standard Operating Procedure). Here was David's thoughtful response:
"Dinner is the main meal of the day.When I grew up, Sunday dinner was around 1 or 2PM. Saturday dinner could be anytime from afternoon till dark depending on the heat of the day. Otherwise, during the week, dinner and supper were the same-the last meal of the day. So supper can be dinner-dinner can be lunch, but lunch cannot be supper although it can be dinner. Simple Y'all -D"
It has recently come to my attention that there are online courses to help people understand Southern. Perhaps you will find these useful. I know they cleared up many of my unanswered questions. Bless their hearts...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1NsC98xVN0&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5N1Im1xbjWQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player
I mean, this is certainly one of the burning questions of life. We have all wrestled with this timeless conundrum and typically have allowed the question to slip back beneath the waves of conscious thought, unanswered. But that is not the SSOP (Southern Standard Operating Procedure). Here was David's thoughtful response:
"Dinner is the main meal of the day.When I grew up, Sunday dinner was around 1 or 2PM. Saturday dinner could be anytime from afternoon till dark depending on the heat of the day. Otherwise, during the week, dinner and supper were the same-the last meal of the day. So supper can be dinner-dinner can be lunch, but lunch cannot be supper although it can be dinner. Simple Y'all -D"
It has recently come to my attention that there are online courses to help people understand Southern. Perhaps you will find these useful. I know they cleared up many of my unanswered questions. Bless their hearts...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
2 comments:
I have been studying these two on line courses but still have a long way to go! LOL
This story brought back memories for me. My Dad was still in NJ and we are in Maine--Dad knew we were coming to make the rounds to visit everyone in NJ, and said "You and Ed come for dinner, and I'll get Aunt Elsie, Uncle Bob, Aunt Dot, and Uncle Wilber to come over too" Great! Dad cooked a pot roast. Well, Ed and I showed up at 5:00, but not Aunts and Uncles, just Dad with a scowl on his face :( "Where have you been?" "Dad, you said dinner." "Dinner is at noon time, 5:00 is supper." Oh, I felt so bad. After straightening the whole thing out, we made up the word supo'clock--forever after the evening meal was called supo'clock. Stay well Connie and Glen--miss you!
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