3 ms·

You seem unaware that the ordinary name for the United Kingdom is "Britain". Imagine standing in New York City and proclaiming to the locals how lovely Califor

You seem unaware that the ordinary name for the United Kingdom is "Britain". Imagine standing in New York City and proclaiming to the locals how lovely California is and how much you like it here in California. Now imagine standing in Glasgow and proclaiming to the locals how lovely England is and how much you like it here in England. If corrected, just say that England is the "ordinary name" for where you are. If you're not sure where you actually are, Miss South Carolina can help: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj3iNxZ8Dww https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj3iNxZ8Dww

thaumasiotes 7d ago
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/England https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/England Check sense 4, and the usage note. You can insist that everyone else in the world is speaking their own language wrong as much as you want, but no one will care.
- amiga386 7d ago
  The usage note that says "dated" and "proscribed". Do you know what either of those words mean? If you want to be seen as an idiot, use the word "England" to refer to a group of four nations of which only one has that name. If you want to be seen as a raging dickhead, show that you know that and used the word anyway.
- dofm 7d ago
  See how it says: (dated, sometimes proscribed) We avoid doing this (only a few silly old men and bigots do it, as a dog whistle in national politics). You should not do this. It is not, in any sense, the "ordinary name" of the UK. It was pure chauvinism even when it was in common use. Don't do it; it will inevitably and correctly annoy people. ETA: Even "Britain" and "British" are pretty complex. "Britain" is not really a place in any meaningful or legal sense. The islands are "the British Isles" but only cartographers and mariners really say that (because Ireland is one of them). Great Britain is an island. No identifiable map region is called Britain. "British" is a citizenship and a passport; whether people say they are British is increasingly a personal decision and people have a really wide variety of reasons for their choice. Safer to say "The UK" when you mean it, and England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland only when you specifically mean those. Anything else is quite likely to get your drink spilled over you.

thaumasiotes 7d ago

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/England https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/England Check sense 4, and the usage note. You can insist that everyone else in the world is speaking their own language wrong as much as you want, but no one will care.

amiga386 7d ago
The usage note that says "dated" and "proscribed". Do you know what either of those words mean? If you want to be seen as an idiot, use the word "England" to refer to a group of four nations of which only one has that name. If you want to be seen as a raging dickhead, show that you know that and used the word anyway.
dofm 7d ago
See how it says: (dated, sometimes proscribed) We avoid doing this (only a few silly old men and bigots do it, as a dog whistle in national politics). You should not do this. It is not, in any sense, the "ordinary name" of the UK. It was pure chauvinism even when it was in common use. Don't do it; it will inevitably and correctly annoy people. ETA: Even "Britain" and "British" are pretty complex. "Britain" is not really a place in any meaningful or legal sense. The islands are "the British Isles" but only cartographers and mariners really say that (because Ireland is one of them). Great Britain is an island. No identifiable map region is called Britain. "British" is a citizenship and a passport; whether people say they are British is increasingly a personal decision and people have a really wide variety of reasons for their choice. Safer to say "The UK" when you mean it, and England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland only when you specifically mean those. Anything else is quite likely to get your drink spilled over you.