Tea and dinner in the large evening meal sense are completely interchangeable, with regional preferences.
Tea the drink and tiny sandwiches (and usually cakes) is generally referred to as 'Afternoon tea' or 'High Tea' (though that usage may be historically incorrect).
If we delve back to when I was a teen (late 70's) one of my great aunts had been a cook while 'in service' in her younger days. If we went to visit, then she would produce, on the spot and with little if any warning, a tea which consisted of several varieties of sandwiches (and tiny they weren't!), several home-baked cakes - and she was a magnificent pastry cook, and as much tea as anyone could drink.
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Tea the drink and tiny sandwiches (and usually cakes) is generally referred to as 'Afternoon tea' or 'High Tea' (though that usage may be historically incorrect).
If we delve back to when I was a teen (late 70's) one of my great aunts had been a cook while 'in service' in her younger days. If we went to visit, then she would produce, on the spot and with little if any warning, a tea which consisted of several varieties of sandwiches (and tiny they weren't!), several home-baked cakes - and she was a magnificent pastry cook, and as much tea as anyone could drink.