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I like how you call Washington D.C. a "town". That's a very modest description of the capital of the world's only superpower. :P Now, Järpen in Sweden is a tow
by bjornsing 10y ago
I like how you call Washington D.C. a "town". That's a very modest description of the capital of the world's only superpower. :P
Now, Järpen in Sweden is a town (with about 1400 inhabitants). It has a restaurant called Fäviken. This restaurant has two Michelin stars [1].
1. https://www.viamichelin.com/web/Restaurant/Jarpen-83005-Faviken_Magasinet-456922-41102 https://www.viamichelin.com/web/Restaurant/Jarpen-83005-Favi...
- Turbots 10y agoWorlds only superpower, lol
- beisner 10y agoNot sure how tongue in cheek you're being, but for those for whom English isn't a first language, calling a large city like DC or NYC a 'town' is pretty common, and is a more colloquial way to describe a region rather than to indicate the size of the named region. Often it is used interchangeably with 'place', for instance: "I've lived in New York City all my life, I've got to get out of that town."
- markcerqueira 10y agoMust be a regional thing because I've never heard of cities like NYC or SF referred to as towns. I would also say "get out of town" is a saying that means "I need to get out of this specific place." Whether the place is a town, city, region is besides the point.
- billskills 10y agoIt's a wry/sarcastic idiom, like calling the Atlantic Ocean "the pond". Nobody actually thinks the Atlantic Ocean is a pond.
- overcast 10y agoCalling the Atlantic "the pond" is so cringe worthy. Why that ever caught on.
- reddit_clone 10y agoThat probably comes from the 'English Understatement' school of thought.
- aedron 10y ago"New York, New York, a helluva town. The Bronx is up but the Battery's down"
- technofiend 10y agoFrank Sinatra would like a word.
- mattkevan 10y agoLondon is often called a town, e.g. London Town. If you said "I'm going into town" or "I got it in town" most people would know where you meant.
- beachstartup 10y agoalso uptown, downtown, cross-town, going out of town... town has no connotation of size in English. in fact you have to use modifiers like 'little town', 'big town', etc.
- exclusiv 10y agoI'll take you to foggy London town 'cause you are my little gentleman.
- drauh 10y agoThe English refer to London as a "town". E.g. Town and Country Magazine (est.1769). [0] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Town_and_Country_Magazine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Town_and_Country_Magazine
- jwdunne 10y agoIn fact, in the north at least, when we say "town" as though its a proper noun, we mean the city centre. To me, that's Manchester despite living in Salford. For example, "I'm off to town this weekend" means I'm going Manchester.
- ali0sha 10y agoNot quite. London is clearly a city and referred to as such, unless you're someone in high society, in which case it is just 'Town'.
- Reason077 10y agoTo complicate this further, "The City" or "The City of London" refers to a small area in central London where a lot of banks and financial institutions are headquartered. London as a whole is called "London" or "Greater London", but not "The city of London". In the UK, "The City" is often used to refer to the London financial industry, much like "Westminster" is used to refer to the central government. "Town" refers to urban centres in general, not just London.
- dempseye 10y ago> unless you're someone in high society, in which case it is just 'Town' Please give us an example of this usage.
- david-given 10y agoGo read any of Dorothy Sayer's Peter Wimsey novels --- not only are they excellent, but they're an interesting insight into upper-class cultureof the 1920s. The main character says this a lot.
- Retric 10y agoChina clearly qualifies as a superpower. Though, it's influence is more economic than military it still wields considerable influence on the global stage. EX: This is more than a decade out of date, but it's a useful reference. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superpower#/media/File:1_AD_to_2003_AD_Historical_Trends_in_global_distribution_of_GDP_China_India_Western_Europe_USA_Middle_East.png https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superpower#/media/File:1_AD_to...
- dak1 10y agoBeing classified as a "superpower" is a term in political science that means the country has the ability to project unparalleled influence on a global scale. Don't let the prominence of discussions of China's "rise" fool you though, it is most certainly not a superpower. It certainly has the capacity to be one some day, but its power projection capability is fairly restricted to its immediate vicinity in East Asia still.
- r00fus 10y agoI must respectfully disagree. China is the worlds manufacturing center. The power it projects globally cannot be understated.
- ponyfleisch 10y agoI think this is about military power.
- igravious 10y agoI am not an expert but I don't think this is true. I think that would make for a very narrow definition of power, and by extension superpower. Intuitively power stems from all sorts of leverage. Could be knowledge based, economic, any number of factors. One term that is often bandied about is so-called soft power, cultural factors and what have you. I say thank goodness military might is not the only measure of power or we'd be in a sad state of affairs when you come to think of it. That's not to undersell the force projection of military might, and does not deny that the US (and Russia to a lesser extent) derive enjoy an outsized place on the world stage owing to military might. Put it another way. You may be right but I do not want you to be right. I don't want to live in that world.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]