6 ms·

The title is highly confusing. I believed that it was about the Queen (person) owning two physical (land) islands. But HMS Queen Elizabeth is a ship and the is

by 21 9y ago

The title is highly confusing. I believed that it was about the Queen (person) owning two physical (land) islands. But HMS Queen Elizabeth is a ship and the islands are the two towering structures on it.

dionidium 9y ago
The HMS portion makes it clear that we're talking about a boat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Her_Majesty%27s_Ship https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Her_Majesty%27s_Ship
- astrodust 9y ago
  It doesn't make it clear unless you know what that means. "HM" is understood to mean Her Majesty, but the "S" could mean anything to those not familiar with the abbreviation.
  - detritus 9y ago
    In that case, take the time to check what the abbreviation is? Headlines are inherently not exhaustive in their explanation, that's kind of the point.
    - astrodust 9y ago
      What's CSIS? NFB? OHIP? These are all acronyms that are geographically localized, and arguably HMS, like NHS and OBE is one of those as well.
- 21 9y ago
  I'm in London and it was not clear at all, considering how pretty much anything here is HM.
  - johneth 9y ago
    I think you might be an outlier in this case. 'HMS' is pretty widely known to mean 'ship' (in the UK, at least).
    - pbhjpbhj 9y ago
      But the 'having islands' adds confusion: HM QEII is known to have islands, to the layman boats are not.
- rainforest 9y ago
  Not necessarily, some of the Royal Navy's ships are islands too: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_frigate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_frigate
- gozur88 9y ago
  <wince>. A ship.
  - jonathantm 9y ago
    [Itty Bitty Ship](https://books.google.ca/books?id=7VqK0UdKHswC&pg=PA62&lpg=PA62&dq=IBS+itty+bitty+ship&source=bl&ots=fGFAsW_9Iu&sig=E8em4fERWKhjk4mOTg48k2MMHbs&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwimr9Pwm9fVAhUH-2MKHYoaDZ4Q6AEIOTAF#v=onepage&q=IBS%20itty%20bitty%20ship&f=false https://books.google.ca/books?id=7VqK0UdKHswC&pg=PA62&lpg=PA...)
  - dionidium 9y ago
    I do not accept or acknowledge "a ship is bigger than a boat" hegemony.
    - gozur88 9y ago
      But if you call it a ship, then it can have a boat and you don't have to say things like "they launched the boat's boat".
  - rpeden 9y ago
    Submariners refer to their vessels as boats, though. So in that sense, the Royal Navy does have several rather large boats.
astrodust 9y ago
Agreed. Adding "carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth" removes ambiguity.
- jonathantm 9y ago
  "United Kingdom Royal Navy aircraft-carrier Her Majesty's Ship (HMS) Queen Elizabeth" FTFY If "HMS" is ambiguous, than [surely "carrier" is too](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrier https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrier).
  - astrodust 9y ago
    Sure, I'd go with that, too. HMS is ambiguous until you add carrier, which gives it just a hint of context.
delibes 9y ago
HMS, HMAS (Australia), HMCS (Canada) are fairly well understood and widely used in the press. As a Brit, we generally understand that USS George H.W. Bush is a big ship, not a person. This seems to be the same case from the other side of the Atlantic.
- gozur88 9y ago
  Not to mention the name of the site hosting the article is "savetheroyalnavy.org".

by 21 9y ago

dionidium 9y ago

The HMS portion makes it clear that we're talking about a boat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Her_Majesty%27s_Ship https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Her_Majesty%27s_Ship

astrodust 9y ago
It doesn't make it clear unless you know what that means. "HM" is understood to mean Her Majesty, but the "S" could mean anything to those not familiar with the abbreviation.
- detritus 9y ago
  In that case, take the time to check what the abbreviation is? Headlines are inherently not exhaustive in their explanation, that's kind of the point.
  - astrodust 9y ago
    What's CSIS? NFB? OHIP? These are all acronyms that are geographically localized, and arguably HMS, like NHS and OBE is one of those as well.
21 9y ago
I'm in London and it was not clear at all, considering how pretty much anything here is HM.
- johneth 9y ago
  I think you might be an outlier in this case. 'HMS' is pretty widely known to mean 'ship' (in the UK, at least).
  - pbhjpbhj 9y ago
    But the 'having islands' adds confusion: HM QEII is known to have islands, to the layman boats are not.
rainforest 9y ago
Not necessarily, some of the Royal Navy's ships are islands too: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_frigate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_frigate
gozur88 9y ago
<wince>. A ship.
- jonathantm 9y ago
  [Itty Bitty Ship](https://books.google.ca/books?id=7VqK0UdKHswC&pg=PA62&lpg=PA62&dq=IBS+itty+bitty+ship&source=bl&ots=fGFAsW_9Iu&sig=E8em4fERWKhjk4mOTg48k2MMHbs&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwimr9Pwm9fVAhUH-2MKHYoaDZ4Q6AEIOTAF#v=onepage&q=IBS%20itty%20bitty%20ship&f=false https://books.google.ca/books?id=7VqK0UdKHswC&pg=PA62&lpg=PA...)
- dionidium 9y ago
  I do not accept or acknowledge "a ship is bigger than a boat" hegemony.
  - gozur88 9y ago
    But if you call it a ship, then it can have a boat and you don't have to say things like "they launched the boat's boat".
- rpeden 9y ago
  Submariners refer to their vessels as boats, though. So in that sense, the Royal Navy does have several rather large boats.

astrodust 9y ago

Agreed. Adding "carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth" removes ambiguity.

jonathantm 9y ago
"United Kingdom Royal Navy aircraft-carrier Her Majesty's Ship (HMS) Queen Elizabeth" FTFY If "HMS" is ambiguous, than [surely "carrier" is too](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrier https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrier).
- astrodust 9y ago
  Sure, I'd go with that, too. HMS is ambiguous until you add carrier, which gives it just a hint of context.

delibes 9y ago

HMS, HMAS (Australia), HMCS (Canada) are fairly well understood and widely used in the press. As a Brit, we generally understand that USS George H.W. Bush is a big ship, not a person. This seems to be the same case from the other side of the Atlantic.

gozur88 9y ago
Not to mention the name of the site hosting the article is "savetheroyalnavy.org".