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Not 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,
by beisner 10y ago
Not 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.