dinner-hour
Noun: "dinner-hour" refers to the time of day when the main meal of the day is eaten, typically in the evening or at midday, depending on cultural or personal habits. It is a specific period set aside for consuming dinner.
- (The specific time when the family eats the main meal together.)
- (The designated time for the evening meal.)
"to keep the dinner-hour": to maintain a consistent time for eating dinner.
- They keep a strict dinner-hour at seven o'clock every evening. (They have a fixed time for their main meal.)
"to interrupt the dinner-hour": to disturb or break the time set aside for the main meal.
- A phone call interrupted their dinner-hour, causing the family to eat later than usual. (The call disrupted the scheduled meal time.)
Dinner time (n): a synonym for "dinner-hour," meaning the same period for the main meal.
- Dinner time is usually at eight in the evening in this household. (The scheduled meal period.)
Dinner bell (n): a bell rung to signal the start of the dinner-hour.
- The dinner bell rang, calling everyone to the table. (A signal for the meal time.)
- Mealtime: a general term for any scheduled time for eating a meal, including dinner.
- Supper hour: a specific term for the time of the evening meal, often used interchangeably with "dinner-hour."
- "The witching hour": though not directly related, this idiom refers to a specific time of day (midnight) and contrasts with the fixed nature of "dinner-hour."
- "Happy hour": a period for discounted drinks, unrelated to meals, but similarly structured as a designated time slot.
"Dinner-hour" is a compound noun formed from "dinner" (the main meal) and "hour" (a period of sixty minutes or a specific time). It is less common in modern English than "dinner time," but it remains a precise term for the designated period for the main meal. It is often used in formal or historical contexts, such as in literature or discussions of daily routines.