Did you hear that, Jock, Paddy and Taff? If you want to live longer you should eat more like the English.
Link to BBC News
www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-15561501
On an unconnected matter, why is there not a group name for the English? The Scots have Jock, the Irish Paddy and the Welsh Taff. The poor English don't have an affectionate nickname like the others.
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You're right there's not a lot of affection in "The Enemy," Auld or otherwise
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>>The poor English don't have an affectionate nickname like the others.
Les Rosbifs?
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Just address us as "Sir" and Tug yer forelock! ;-)
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Sassenachs.
(probably derived from 'Saxon')
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Oh there are plenty of collective names for the English, it's just that forum rules prevent...
:-))
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>>Sassenachs<<
S'not a name that would be used by the Irish, or Welsh though, is it, so the OP is correct when he sez " why is there not a group name for the English"?
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Sasanachs is Irish, Saeson is Welsh from same derivation. (*acc to wiki)
They differ because native tongues differ.
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>>Sasanachs is Irish, Saeson is Welsh from same derivation<<
Interesting, I didne know that.
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Like it or not calling yourself English brings with it a certain label these days, the PC crew don't like it, whereas it's perfectly acceptable to be be Scottish Welsh or Irish in no particular order as against British.
The PC brigade caused this.
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There's 'Pom' of course.
Colin MacInnes, in his first novel (I think) City of Spades, said that in the fifties Caribbean immigrants used to call the English John Bulls, pronounced Jumbles. But although I have known West Indians since 1957 or 58, some of them quite rough types, I have never heard this expression used to the best of my recollection.
Northern Irish Catholics call us Brits.
In West Africa one is referred to as an Oyigbo and in East Africa as a Mzungu. But those are both expressions for 'white man', not Englishman, and often cover Lebanese and other European-looking Arabs.
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There's expat English, Welsh and Scots around here and all seem to be known among themselves as Brits. I've never heard the French call us rosbifs but I suspect there is probably something else in use that I haven't yet picked up on.
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>> never heard the French call us rosbifs
I have, but usually in jest, in the same way that we call them Frogs. They also use the term Anglo-Saxons, more often written than spoken though. What it means is 'the British and the Americans', not specifically the English. With similar, slightly surprising sloppiness, perhaps intended as a general insult, they use the expression 'anglais' interchangeably with 'britannique'. They don't mind a bit of robust teasing along those lines. I can remember some senior French hacks in Algeria - Le Monde, AFP and two TV crews - referring to another part of the international press scrum as 'les Anglais'. They meant me and the Reuters man, who is a friend to this day but just happens to be a French-speaking Belgian who lives in Paris and regards himself as an honorary Frog. He didn't seem to mind though.
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It's a bit like the sight of the Union Jacks being waved in Tripoli when Dave went over there - a very unusual occurrence.
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Pedant mode "on"
They are Union Flags, not Union Jacks.
The Union flag may only properly be called a Union Jack when it is flying at the jack-staff of a Royal Navy vessel - and that only happens when the ship is moored or alongside a jetty.
How many times have I cringed at the sight of a Union Flag being flown upside down?
Many!
Pedant mode "off".
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I think that the British there were more surprised at it not being burnt than being the right way up.
Last edited by: R.P. on Thu 3 Nov 11 at 19:44
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I had occasion to 'phone the Pensions help desk in Newcastle-upon-Tyne this morning and I absolutely could not understand 85% of what the lady was saying, so thick was her Geordie accent.
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>>How many times have I cringed at the sight of a Union Flag being flown upside down?<<
thats a recognised distress call = i hope you acted!
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thats a recognised distress call = i hope you acted!
another myth.
If your boat was sinking would you really rely on someone being able to detect a marginal difference in the appearance of your flag rapidly disappearing under the waves?
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Twas one of the first things we learnt in the Scouts! - but yes you are correct that its easily missed or mistaken, however,
This is expressed by the phrases wide white top and broad side up. Traditionally, flying a flag upside down is understood as a distress signal. In the case of the Union Flag, the difference is so subtle as to be easily missed by many. Indeed, some people have displayed it upside down inadvertently.[12]
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Flag
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I emailed the Head of an English College in Marbella, regarding the upside-down Union Flag they were flying and received a reply thanking me!
Next time I passed it was flying correctly!
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Pedantry is a dangerous game'
"From early in its life the Admiralty itself frequently referred to the flag as the Union Jack, whatever its use, and in 1902 an Admiralty Circular announced that Their Lordships had decided that either name could be used officially. In 1908 a government minister stated, in response to a Parliamentary question, that "the Union Jack should be regarded as the National flag"
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..and it's Pensions' Desk. To be pedantic.
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Be More Like The English! - NeilS
