Talk:Alternative words for British

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[edit] various old comments

Eeks. this system is complicated. sorry for not figuring out how to email someone to look into the following. . .I just wanted to share that there is likely a factual error in the Pommy article regarding origin. it notes that POHM is a false entemology with no evidence. I suggest the photographs hanging in the Melbourne museum of prisoners wearing POHM should be reasonable evidence. Will someone in Melbourne please go to the museum and prove this to the others. Take care. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 151.151.21.102 (talk) 16:51, 12 February 2008 (UTC)


As a Brit/Pomme/rosbif etc... I feel this article is neutral and by no means insulting; in fact it is highly entertaining and informative. My only question is that I have never encountered the usage of the phrase 'Island Monkey' before, are there any refernces to its usage? John Magee 84.68.167.239 08:49, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

The Germans call the British "Island Monkeys", I forget the german word for this.

85.210.138.144 16:36, 21 January 2007 (UTC)

The term is "Inselaffen" and is, of course, meant to be offensive. --24.166.17.187 04:23, 30 April 2007 (UTC)


Is it worth mentioning that the term 'british' was originally used to mean 'brythonic speaking' (the welsh and cornish being referred to as british or their languages as the british tongue.) With the later use of british to mean everyone on this island being adopted and encouraged following the union with scotland, and the birtish project, at one point people were encouraged to call scotland 'north britain' and england 'south britain' so the term in its current meaning has been around quite a while. 131.111.8.102

"Ukulele"?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! What do you think we are, a nation of George Formbys??? Ee, turned out nice again. Ha ha, never touched me! Lee M 02:03, 13 Nov 2003 (UTC)

Mentions of these words have been around since the early days of the United Kingdom

The early days of the UK are a lot earlier than those of the US... (amused) Martin 01:43, 16 Nov 2003 (UTC)

Only 69 years. 20:16, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

Btw, British isn't a demonym. You can't say "A british went into the bar". That's what a demonym is... Martin 01:53, 16 Nov 2003 (UTC)

Were the terms Limey, Pom, Pommy, and Brit really coined as attempts to establish less ambiguous terms for United Kingdom nationals than the adjective British and the demonym Briton? Somehow I find that hard to believe... -- Oliver P. 05:23, 16 Nov 2003 (UTC)

No they are not. DJ Clayworth 14:46, 17 Nov 2003 (UTC)
I've always thought that "Briton" was a slur on us Angles, Saxons, Normans, Danes and Jutes who also live in Britain....
Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Normans - the descendents of the very few of these people who actually migrated are now spread all over Britain and are Britons. I'm sure that the Danes who live in Britain are well aware that they're not native and can be respective of the term for their ethnic term :) Enzedbrit 09:53, 16 June 2006 (UTC)


I don't know where the writer of this got his information. We already have a word for UK nationals, as opposed to people living in Britain. It's British. The others are, well, people living in Britain. DJ Clayworth 14:46, 17 Nov 2003 (UTC)

What's "this" in this context? Martin 19:46, 17 Nov 2003 (UTC)

I find the section on Proposed Alternatives hard to understand, and what I do understand appears to be wrong. 'British' in modern usage now pretty much refers to Citizens of the UK and its colonies. The colonies are few and far between, and many of them would be insulted if you implied that they were not British. Even in Northern Ireland I have never heard of a suggestion that British not be used to include all UK Citizens. Plus 'British Citizen' is used pretty frequently in official language to mean a citizen of the UK. DJ Clayworth 22:56, 18 Nov 2003 (UTC)

This article is on a UK topic and so should be called Alternative words for British (see List of words having different meanings in British and American English) Andy G 00:23, 4 Dec 2003 (UTC)

...Done it. (It was "Alternate words for British"). So call me pedantic. Andy G 18:02, 6 Jan 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Pom as offensive

I removed the claim:

Although common, [pommy] is deemed highly offensive, the most offensive term that exists for a British person.

because it certainly isn't true here in Australia, where it is no more offensive than, say "Yank" for Americans. Where is it supposed to be "highly offensive"? Securiger 08:10, 14 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Is "Pom" at all offensive? Anyone using it intending to cause offence would most probably be met with mild ridicule for excessive Australianness. --Greg K Nicholson 05:54:42, 2005-08-11 (UTC)

Whover wrote the bit on "Pom" or "Pommy" did not do their homework and most probably has never lived in Australia. First of all, in Australia at least, it never refers to all Britons. It only refers to the English. Second, it is not offensive in and of itself. That is entirely driven by context. Potoroo 12:15, 17 April 2006 (UTC)

The word pom IS offensive. It was coined to be offensive and has always been used to the detriment of British people. Not just English, although chiefly English, but British. In recent times people from elsewhere in Britain, and others, have said that the term only refers to English. This might be a way to avoid being labelled a pom and to escape the insult, and now we have the argument that it is only for English people, but this was not always so and the word remains a slight on all British people and should be avoided. The term is used to put down, bad mouth and belittle English and British people and is often accompanied with an expletive such as bloody, 'fucking', etc. To say now that it is not offensive is to say that when one calls a homosexual a faggot or dyke, one is purely being jovial and 'joking' or in reality levelling a compliment on someone, as I have seen people say with regards to Pom. Try being at the receiving end of the word during the dark days of post-assisted migration and you won't see the word as anything other than a smug reminder that Australian and Kiwi born people can really be nasty pieces of work. Enzedbrit 09:47, 16 June 2006 (UTC)
Someone has added a bit about the word being used during the cricket. I have removed it as it is irrelevant to the debate. The word is used in many sporting events and contexts. Black footballers are called Monkeys at many sporting events too but that doesn't mean that it's used to support them. People can justify their prejudice until they're blue in the face, it's still prejudice. It's a fact that British people ARE quite reserved and polite and will often allow themselves to be thus insulted without raising a fuss. The irony is should one comment on the fact that 'pom' is not a nice word to use, they are liable to then be called a 'whinging pom'. How can a word that has done nothing but belittle people and keep them in their place since its inception now be 'okay to use'? It isn't. If you really need to find a word to refer to an English or a British person and aren't civil enough to use their first name, then try 'English' or 'British'. Enzedbrit 09:50, 16 June 2006 (UTC)
Well, obviously you find Pom offensive, but the article should reflect the majority opinion if we can find any sources on this. Yes many British people won't raise a fuss, but I believe most British people aren't insulted by the word Pom, it just gives us a chance to laugh at the Aussies and their funny words. Maybe if British/English people were oppressed or whatever then slang words would be construed as offensive but our relationship with the Australians, in sport or whatever, is one of good natured rivalry. We are both countries that enjoy a joke and having a bit of a laugh at each other and pom is normally accepted as just part of this. As an Englishman I feel more abuse is recieved from welsh and particularly Scots than Aussies.137.138.46.155 09:35, 22 August 2006 (UTC)
Agreed. Very few of us Brits find 'Pom' offensive, but it depends who says it and how. Apart from Australians, nobody else on the planet could use a phrase like "How ya doin' you bloody whingeing pommie bastard" to your face as a term of endearment, and get away with it :-)160.84.253.241 13:43, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
Excuse me, actually, no. "Very few of us Brits" nothing. A lot of people recently arrived find nothing wrong with the word, as do many of the staid older generation who are so proud and decent people that nothing would phase them, but those of us who have lived through the 60s/70s, or in my case, grown up with the effects on children in the 80s, the term IS offensive, not nice, pretty darn nasty, and shouldn't be used. There is nothing pleasant in using a word which had always been a term of abuse, contained in which is so much power and derision, towards people today. I would have thought that we could rise above racial taunts. Nigger was a common word for black people in the United States and now has been recognised as offensive, when once it wasn't. Pom was always offensive - who now decides that it's okay? Next will I accept that 'dirty little faggot' is okay? I think not. And if an Australian ever called me a bloody whinging pommie bastard to my face, I'd deck the racist little s.o.b. That though is systematic of Australia and New Zealand, which are countries that determine their own worth not so much on how great they are for their achievements, but on how much they can rip down and belittle others. It's very sad and shows great insecurity. I don't like chink, I don't like hori, I don't like bung, and likewise pom just isn't okay. Anyway, the article is good now in that it reflects both viewpoints on the word.
For the record, it's interesting that Pom is seen so much now to refer solely to English people. By all accounts this has occured in the past few decades, I'd say as a way by Scots and Welsh to disassociate themselves from the word and also get in another blow against English people, in which case the previous contributor is correct, because although there is spite back and forth between England, Scotland and Wales, nobody would jump to defend the English, and everyone it seems would love to support anyone attacking England in such abuse. Again, very sad. I mean, we could be using our time tackling poverty, crime, climate change ...Enzedbrit 01:46, 12 September 2006 (UTC)
Oops. OK, I'll re-phrase that. I do not find 'Pom' offensive in the least. I've never noticed Aussies ripping-down other people (unless they had it coming). Don't forget that poor Aus/N.Z. was on the receiving end of a tidal wave of moaning surly Brits that we here in Britain were only too glad to see the back of. They moaned continuously about Britain while they were here, then they moaned when they were not met with a red carpet and marching band when they got off the ship in Sydney. Sadly, some of them returned to the UK where they can now be heard whingeing about how much better-off they were in Australia. I think that we Brits got off lightly by just being called 'Poms'. I think that we deserved a far harsher nickname. I find that the best way to 'castrate' a nickname is to use it first to describe yourself, so I am happy to call myself a Pom / Limey / Bogtrotter / Rosbif first, before Johnny Foreigner gets the chance :-) You have had the admirable guts to do something similar on your home page, so why not stick 'Proud to be a Pom' up there too?160.84.253.241 09:55, 12 September 2006 (UTC)
As for not noticing Aussies ripping down others, that’s of course your perception, as is your embracing of the racial insult which is the course of this thread. The UK is filled too with moaning Aussies and Kiwis who arrive, complain about the crowding, the weather, the food, never leave London and say they’ve ‘done Britain’. I cannot accept your spiel on Britons in the antipodes – it’s really very nasty, buying into the fuel that feeds the fire, and I’m sorry but I doubt that, if you are British, you feel much affinity with your people. I can’t imagine anyone being so self-hating. It’s beyond even the ribbing we’re renowned for giving ourselves. Were it not for stating what you have said about British people, I’d have assumed you quite a positive person. I compare that attitude to queer people phoning radio shows to agree with homophobic announcers that we have already been given too much equality and should learn to shut up and be grateful with what we’ve got. If you remember, or not, for New Zealand at least it was the efforts on the part of Britons in the trade unions that gave rise to so much of the ‘whinging’ association. ‘Pommie bashing’ and Anglophobia were also causes for many people to return to Britain. I read somewhere a few days ago a statistic that about 25% of British migrants returned to Britain in the post-war years and a main reason was discrimination and prejudice against them as people which nurtured greater homesickness. I’d no more state that I’m proud to be a ‘pom’ than I would be proud to be a ‘nigger’ were I a black person, but saying that, if I hear the term from friends when I know that they're joking with me, in a context that I could use similar loaded words, then that's different. Hearing on the sports news well-known anglophobic morons using the word left, right and centre to voice their derision is not pleasant. It’s good that you’re able to brush off criticism, racism, prejudice, but with the life I’ve had down here and having been on the receiving end of what I’ve received, and what I still witness to this day in the media and on the street, I won’t accept complacency in this matter. And the biggest irony? To stand up and state publicly what I've said? I become a 'whinging pom'. (http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?p=442420; http://www.teara.govt.nz/NewZealanders/NewZealandPeoples/HistoryOfImmigration/16/en) Enzedbrit 21:22, 12 September 2006 (UTC)
Good grief. To equate the word 'Pom' with a term like 'nigger' or 'faggot' - and thus suggesting the same levels of social oppression and violent discrimination - is altogether offensive in itself to groups with a genuine history of suffering. Calling you guys 'Poms' is just the same as calling us Aussies 'convicts', which I assure you leaves none of us crying ourselves to sleep at night or rioting in the streets. I can only assume you don't have any siblings and that you don't recognise an established family tradition of affectionate teasing when you see it. Poor you. -- Alyssa George, Convict #AG1414


OK, we'll just have to agree to differ. I have only been to Oz once, and I was made very welcome (although it probably helped that I was in a navy uniform) as long as you can put up with a bit of ribbing and give some in return - it's just how Aussies are. I felt much more unwelcome in Scotland, where the feeling (among a minority) is not so good-natured. As for hating the British - well no. I am one...but I'm just being realistic. Like every other race on the planet: some of us are devils; some of us are saints, and most of us are somewhere in-between. You can't please all of the people all of the time, of course, but I generally find that the percentage of people who like you is in direct proportion to how likeable you are. If nobody seemed to like me, it would be easy to kid myself by believing that it was all only because of my race.160.84.253.241 07:17, 13 September 2006 (UTC)
While it may have been used that vociferously in say the 50s/60s, using "pom" exclusively as a term of abuse has well and truly died off in the last 30 years. You'll occasionally hear "whining/bloody pom" in NZ, but it's pretty mild - no worse than people saying "bloody English" or "bloody Yanks", and I hear it being used as a vaguely affectionate term much more often. So, while it might be useful to cite the historical use, acknowledging that the meaning is more positive than not these days is also a relevant perspective. Spoken as a born-and-bred kiwi now living in Oz. Trxi 12:30, 9 January 2007 (UTC)

Well I added the Cricket Australia ruling, which at least gives us an 'official' verdict to disagree on. ;) --Hammer15 10:35, 27 September 2006 (UTC)

Nice one, The problem is that we Poms in the UK don't actually have a deliberately-offensive term for Aussies. I don't know whether Poms living in Oz have any that I don't know about. We just call them 'Aussies' and their country either 'Oz' or 'Down Under' for short. There are some silly ones on 'Offensive Terms per Nationality', but I can honestly say that in my 49 years living in Britain I have never heard any of them. 'Lebs' is what Australians call somebody else, 'Fosters' is a rather feeble beer, and a 'Matilda' is a tank. One thing that strikes me about Wikipedia is the sheer number of nerds who sit in lonely attics making up this rubbish. I suppose 'Pom' is the same as any other word - there are two ways of saying it. Hopefully by the end of the cricket you/they will be putting "F*****g" in front of it, snarling it between clenched teeth and then spitting :-) 160.84.253.241 13:19, 27 September 2006 (UTC)


In my logged out opinion Pom is no longer offensive as it is one of those words where the 'insult' is not used in a jocular way. I know an English person who is offended, I also know many people, including myself who would not be. It is similar to the word 'Taff' for Welsh people, As a welsh person I am not offended at all. But some would be. That being said Australians and sometimes British people regularly use insults in conversation to close friends, nothing is meant by it anyway. Kind of like saying 'We are such close friends that we can use insulting words and not be offended'

Anyway the above is not relavent to the artical except to possibly say that there are a lot of differing opinions. so maybe the article should say that the word can sometimes be thought of as offensive, but is regularly used in a jocular manner.

I think that the word comes from the french word for potatoe anyway, can't be bothered explaining why.


Gosh! As an Australian living in Scotland, during my time in Australia I don't think I'd ever heard the word "Pom" ever used in an offensive context. It think it's all well and good to come up with a black and white answer as to whether it's offensive or not, but when it comes down to it, it's about the context between the utterer and the recipient. Constantly re-iterating that you feel offended by the term does not enhance your argument, it only serves to prove that you feel very offended by it, but only you. I would think that a majority of people I've encountered are not offended by the term. One could argue that I should be offended by the term "convict", since there certainly are no convicts in my ancestry, having chosen to emigrate to Australia. I think the only conclusive agreement we can come to here is that "it can be offensive to some people". To those that are offended, I would hope for your sake that eventually you would come around to a more updated understanding of the word in that it's commonly used in Australia as a term of endearment, and that you can always know when an Australian likes you, as he's probably insulting you as he's buying you a beer. -- Marcus 155.136.80.162 12:13, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

Well we have an official government ruling here in Australia - "pom" is a playful and/or affectionate term and does not constitute racial vilification. The ruling was made by the Advertising Standards Board. (I've posted the link in the main article). Some whinging pom is trying to take it to the United Nations regardless. Manning 01:25, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

I'd be much more convinced by this if it were a non-Australian government body ruling. As an English person who has lived in Australia, I found that "pom" was used in a way that carried an inherent slur with it, the same way that "yank" does. More often than not, it was used with the prefix of another more direct insult. Certainly, it was never used in polite company or as or with a compliment... my experiences in Oz tainted my view of the word and it definitely, for me, carries a slur. It's the equivalent of "yank" IMO - the respectful term for a Briton is "Briton" (again, having lived in America, I find that many Americans use "Brit" in a similar way that British use "Yank" or Australians "Pom"). Interesting that the British have no corresponding word for Australians. — Estarriol talk 11:48, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

As a modern Aussie, I've only heard English people refer to themselves as Poms. In the current Australian version of the English vernacular, people from England are English, people from Scotland are Scottish (where did that extra T come from?), people from Wales are Welsh and people from Ireland are Irish. People from the Isle of Mann are tax dodgers. Aussies don't see the UK as a United Kingdom, but split up as seperate countries, with much cultural and language diversity. Australia is a very beautiful, diverse and friendly society. It doesn't matter where you come from, as long as you are interesting, friendly and doesn't mind shouting a bloke a beer, then I'm your friend. As to the origins of Pom, well, all true Aussies know that this comes from Pomegranate, a fruit that starts off white, but changes to a bright crimpson when ripe. A person with fair skin has to be very carefull when they answer the sirens song of our bright blue oceans and porcelain beaches.

[edit] Sassenach

Although now a Scottish Gaelic and Irish Gaelic colloquialism for the English, Sassenach (sometimes Sassanach) was a Pictish word to refer to a Saxon. The Welsh equivalent is Sais (plural Saeson). Anothern Scottish term was Southron from Middle English, also used during the Confederacy to refer to Southerners, and by J. R. R. Tolkien (see Southrons).

I removed that because the Scottish and Irish Gaelic words are not colloquial at all. And the word didn't come through Pictish. All the Celtic peoples call the English "Saxons" for some reason or another.

It doesn't really make sense in the Southron bit that it ever referred to British (people of the United Kingdom as whole), either.. Sounds like it refers to the English from the viewpoint of the Lowland Scots.

And Highlanders too refer to Lowlanders as Sassenachs. Enzedbrit 09:47, 16 June 2006 (UTC)
No they dont. Lowlanders are referred to as Gall and the distinction between "Gall"="English/non-Gaelic" Scot and "Sasannach"="Englishman" is quite emphasised. siarach 12:05, 7 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Alternatives for (Great) Britain etc...

I've written a proposal for an article to give a clarification of terms like (Great) Britain, the British Isles, the UK and England (and whether Ireland has anything to do with any of these), including a section that deals with different names for the peoples of these regions, partly taken from the information contained here, so I thought I should point that out. User:DirkvdM/British Isles - Clarification of Terms DirkvdM 17:20, 2005 Apr 28 (UTC)

[edit] Pom - Rhyming Slang derivative?

Could 'pom' be derived from 'pommes frites' (rhymes with 'Brits'), just as the Australian term 'seppo' is derived from 'septic tanks' (rhymes with 'Yanks')? (submitted by Ringo Stalin)

It could be derived from many things. What matters is that the word is a term of offence and using it says a lot about the utterer. Enzedbrit 09:47, 16 June 2006 (UTC)

it dosent rhyme with Brits if you pronounce it correctly. I'm not offended by being called a pom. Its usually the preceding adjective that I have the problem with. --86.20.247.36 00:09, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Les Fuckoff's

I removed this part. Some say that "some french" use it as a derogatory for brittish. They don't. None does. I'm french, i've been living in France for 32 years, I should know. And I never even once heard it. 100% urban legend.

[edit] Limey

User:67.81.253.247 added that the term comes from the limestone of the White Cliffs. Since the White Cliffs are not limestone, the phrase grew up in the English-speaking not Francophone world, and I have never come across this before, it seems unlikely; however, if it's wanted, here's a suggested form of words which might be appropriate:

Another suggestion comes from the idea of [limestone rock] - the White Cliffs of Dover is the first sighting of the British Isles by sea from Europe across the Straits of Dover (the narrowest part of the Channel), hence the term "Limey" was supposedly attached to the inhabitants of the British Isles by seafarers. This is unlikely, since (a) the White Cliffs are chalk, not limestone, part of a continnuous stratum of chalk which extends across the Channel to Cap Gris Nez in France and (b) the term appears to exist primarily in the English-speaking world, most of whose major port of entry to Britain would have been Liverpool, Portsmouth or Southampton.

Isn't limestone and chalk the same thing or has the commentator above found some new variation on chemistry

The name of 'Limey' in relation to the English, derives from the fact that the Royal Navy used the fruit lime to prevent scurvy in its seamen, hence English being called 'Limey's'.

I did hear somewhere, but can't for the life of me find a reference now, that to ensure the crew got an adequate supply of limes, the officers used to lock them in a barrel labelled "Officers Only", and rely on the men's theiving nature to do the rest.NeilUK 13:34, 26 March 2006 (UTC)



Folklaw suggest's the word/name 'Pom,Pommy' is derived from the early convicts, being literally 'prisoners of the motherland'


Alternative names for Britain............ - 'Old Blighty'

[edit] Brit and Britisher

'Brit' is not especially American or Australian (except perhaps in origin?). You hear it all the time in the UK too - and I don't know anyone who uses the word Briton much at all (except in writing). The only reason it may be considered less common in Britain itself is that British people would tend to say 'I met a Scottish/Welsh/English/Northern Irish bloke' than 'I met a Brit'. I suppose 'British bloke' might be more common in the singular too, but the plural 'Brits' happens often enough.

Also, is 'Britisher' really only restricted to India? I'm pretty sure I read that it's common enough in the US too. But that may not be true any more, I suppose. garik 12:47, 17 June 2006 (UTC)

"Britisher" is not unusual in the United States. "Brit" is also commonly heard. "Briton" is rare because people would tend to confuse it with "Britain". But (alas) the most frequent synonym for "Briton" in the United States is "Englishman," used out of ignorance of the distinction between England, Scotland, and Wales. Paul 01:38, 24 February 2007 (UTC)

Certainly the Herald Tribune uses the word "Briton" frequently. "Britons were shocked to hear....", etc. The word English is used by them hardly at all. On one occasion the main bit of the newspaper had a reference to "Britain playing Australia at Lords cricket ground", whilst the sports section referred, correctly, to "England playing Australia". Generally, the Americans, in common with most of the world, seem to think that Britain is synonmymous with England. I even heard a Scottish Australian claim that "the Scots don't like the British". When I pointed out that the Scots were British, I was met with angry disbelief. Talk about the results of a bad education! Millbanks 22:55, 10 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Roast beef

I thought Anglais was the culinary term for roast beef. Is this another false etymology?--Joel 08:52, 24 June 2006 (UTC)

"Anglais" is a slight on English coooking used by French chefs. In French cuisine, anything cooked simply is called this, such as Sauce Anglais, which is custard. --Chefrob4655 10:13, 3 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Goddams

Amother french term I thought but not mentioned GraemeLeggett 10:38, 11 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Brit

I don't mind pommy, redneck, limey, rosbif, fuck-off etc but don't like 'Brit'. Lots of people don't like being called Brits. I know the British press uses the term a lot but that doesn't mean that everybody likes it. Lots of black rappers use 'nigger' but most black people don't like it.GordyB 13:37, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

I have to agree. In twenty years living in the USA, that was the only word/phrase i disliked hearing with regard to my origins (other than the people who simply didn't care about telling the difference between England, Great Britain, the United Kingdom, and the British Isles). It still rubs me the wrong way, though i don't know why, just as Pom obviously does Enzedbrit. So i return here, home, and still hear and see it; oh well. Lindsay H. 15:10, 9 December 2006 (UTC)
I can see your point, but what alternative do we have if we want to refer to a citizen of the United Kingdom? As most of you live on the island of Great Britain, it becomes a term through lack of an alternative. I accept that calling you a "Brit" is equally unfair to the denizens of Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands). Calling you "UK-ers" is ungainly, and no other candidate term is apparent. (The USA also provides this difficulty, as the term "American" rightfully belongs to all inhabitants of North and South America, but efforts to popularise terms such as "usian" etc have failed utterly.)
From speaking to UK people I've heard that you'd prefer to be referred to by your "country" (eg - England, Scotland, etc) but that involves a usage of the word "country" which isn't really shared by anyone else. To me (and probably most non-UK citizens), England, Scotland etc are not "countries" in the sense we understand it (as we tend to treat "country" and "nation" as synonymous) - in other words they are distinct but subordinate territories within a single federated nation (UK) much like California and Florida in the USA, or Victoria and Tasmania in Australia.
So while I appreciate you don't like it, what alternative do we have? Expecting us to be sensitive to the distinctions within your nation is unrealistic, as in general citizens of one nation will lump all citizens of another nation into a single group (after all, citizens of the UK aren't particularly attuned to the divide between the North and South of the USA, or between Queensland and West Australia, and Americans may not be aware that other countries even exist [1]. Manning 01:59, 8 January 2007 (UTC)
Also, while you might not like it, there are plenty of people - including all my English friends - who use it quite happily. It's the most common self-reference term I've heard from the English travelling abroad, and it was also the most common term I heard when living in London (other than when people wanted to make a particular point about being "English" as opposed to, say, "Welsh"). Lots of kiwis don't like being called "kiwis", but that doesn't take away the fact it's a common term used by many (if not utterly everyone).Trxi 12:23, 9 January 2007 (UTC)

I put it that ferring to all of Britain as England as is commonly stated by Americans, is the same as referring to the entirety of the U.S.A. as Texas. It is simple enough to deperate that England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are seperate parts of Great Britain, a vague geographical term which is also referred to as the United Kingdom. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.67.50.51 (talk • contribs)

In so far as it refers to us all (Scottish, Welsh, Northern Irish, English), "Brit" is 100% okay, simply an abbreviation of our nationality. Does it even deserve to be on this list?--Timtak (talk) 13:33, 14 January 2008 (UTC)


Look, it's easy. Call the English English, the Welsh Welsh, and the Scots Scots. OK?Millbanks 23:00, 10 May 2007 (UTC)

Exactly. siarach 11:36, 12 August 2007 (UTC)

Not so. Divisions between the constituent nations are not that clear cut. Tony Blair, for instance, spent a good deal of his formative years in Scotland, whereas other people will insist on being called Scottish despite not now, (or even having ever), lived in Scotland. The constituent nations of the UK have been in intimate contact for so long, that sectional distinctions are more or less meaningless. Furthermore, although I was born in England, and have spent all of my life living in England, I do find it quite offensive when I am called 'English' - our language is full of vaguities and even the most inoccuous word can carry negative connotations to certain ears, and 'English' is a word that's connotations I don't like, and refuse to have applied to my own identity.
As for 'Brit'. I'm afraid I must admit it depends on what side of the Atlantic the speaker saying it comes from. IMHO, there's just something unpalatable about the way Americans pronounce the phoneme /t/... My prefered word would be 'Briton', (although it could be argued to be quite inaccurate), and I would advise people to use this word. By refering to someone by their constituent nationality, you are in effect supporting the separatist position, this violates the sovereignty of the British State and goes against the spirit of the Peace of Westphalia. Ninebucks (talk) 16:05, 30 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Portuguese "beef"

As far as I know, the term "bife" - literally steak in portuguese, was spawned in the southern touristic beach region and it refers to Anyone that sunburns easily instead of tanning to brown. It therefore refers to the northern european ethnicity in general and its widely used to refer to germans and the Irish more than to britons. Tony Blair , Cathrine Zeta Jones or Rohan Atkinson would never be refered to as "bifes" in Portugal, despite being british while Wayne Rooney and Emma Bunton would be considered stereotypical "bifes". Also, contrarily to its french origin, I don't think the portuguese word refers to their diet, but to the looks of the sunburnt skin of northern european tourists, similar to that of a raw steak. The term "cámone" on the other hand, is used to refer to Britons in portugal. "camone" (plural "camones") is the one alternative word for British in Portugal, although there is an extension to some level to other english speakers, as the word derives from the english expression "Come on!".

[edit] Derivation of Firang

I'd always assumed that Firang derived from the Arabic farang = "Frank" (from the Crusades) Richard Gadsden 20:17, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Five O'Clocks?

Is this due to the 1 hour difference between GMT and European time as any fule kno that afternoon tea is at 4 o'clock.

Dyaimz 19:31, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Pom

This word is used to describe the English, not the British (ie not Scots or Welsh people). It's no longer pejorative, and it's interesting that lots of Aussies are keen to claim English ancestry, and some Aussie born people even describe themselves as "English". But there's still a degree of leg pulling: ie phrases such as "full as a Pommie's complaint box" or "dry as a Pommie's bath towel". Millbanks 15:44, 4 November 2007 (UTC)

Pom is fine by me, a Pom.--Timtak (talk) 13:36, 14 January 2008 (UTC)