Are you offended to be called a "Limey?"
Sep 25th, 2002, 12:25 PM
#1
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Are you offended to be called a "Limey?"
<BR>On my last trip to England (as on previous trips) I was almost constantly referred to as a “Yank.” 90% of the time this was in a friendly and/or lighthearted manner, but not always. Occasionally it was obvious that it wasn’t a term of endearment, including in a pub in a small town where one kind gent went so far as to say, “Bleedin’ Yanks, King George should’ve set them all alight…”<BR><BR>(In case you think that I somehow provoked this, I’d walked into the place, took off my cap, nodded to the barkeep and had said, “Pint of Old Speckled Hen, please.” That was the extent of my conversation.)<BR><BR>Taking the long way round to this, are you English offended to be called “Limey’s?” Are the French offended to be called “frogs”?<BR>Of course I understand that much of this depends on just who says it and how it’s said, but I mean generally speaking. After all, none of these phrases are racially demeaning and hopefully respondents to my query understand where/how these appellations originated. In fact, the only one of the three mentioned here that was originally contrived to be offensive was “Yankee”.<BR><BR>By the by, being from the deep south I cant say that I was awfully pleased at being referred to as a Yank, myself, but chose not to make a fuss about it.<BR>
Sep 25th, 2002, 12:28 PM
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If you were from the north, being called a Yank wouldn't bother you, but being from the south you automatically associate Yank or Yankee with negative connotations. Being called a Yankee in the south is a very negative comment as you well know. I don't think it was meant as negative in this case.
Sep 25th, 2002, 12:39 PM
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Jen's almost right -- the Yankees in New England are the descendants of the folks who got off hthe Mayflower and all those other early boats, as opposed to us whose ancestors' boats arrived after the Civil War. It encompasses not only the bluebloods, but also their poorer relations. Perhaps Shelby has never heard the term "swamp yankees."
Sep 25th, 2002, 12:53 PM
#5
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The English are called "Limey" because the sailors ate limes to help prevent scurvy. The French have a penchant for frog’s legs, or at least are perceived to.<BR><BR>“Yankee,” however was a purely derogatory phrase used by the English to describe their colonial cousins as bumpkins. The colonists turned the appellate around in insolance toward the “enemy” and embraced the phrase, at least on the surface, as something of a badge of defiance.<BR><BR>I’m sure no harm is meant in today’s usage which really is quite pervasive in England and other parts of Britain as well. No need to make an issue of it and further propagate Political Correctness. But is it unfeeling for the British to call Shelby a “Yank?” Yes, particularly with the fact that he’s Southern which probably intensifies it for him, but it’s pretty poor form on the Brit’s part if you stop and think about it. Which I wont. <BR>
Sep 25th, 2002, 01:02 PM
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One of my biggest pet-peeves is being called a Yank by any non-American! It just gets under my skin. The only way I can explain it is to compare it to someone who doesn't know how to curse right. It just sounds kind of stupid, doesn't it? Americans on the other hand can call each other that because they know how to use it correctly. It's one of those words that has alot of nuances that foreigners don't understand therefore they should just leave it alone. <BR>OK, maybe I get a little hot over such a minor thing but I guess that's why they're called pet-peeves. LOL
Sep 25th, 2002, 01:36 PM
#7
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We have yet to hear from anyone responding to the original question here--though it is fascinating to watch the navel gazing with regard to the term yankee. My, what a self important little group of people we are. Just proves the old saying that a person's favorite topic of conversation is himself.
Sep 25th, 2002, 02:40 PM
#11
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Considering the fact that I am from the South but live in the NorthEast, imagine how galling it is for me to be in England and called a Yank !<BR>I would never call a British person a Limey, nor would I call a Frenchman a Frog. So I guess I think all of these "nicknames" are derogatory and demeaning and we should all stop using them ..that is unless you are meaning to be insulting.<BR>
Sep 25th, 2002, 05:35 PM
#15
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Most English people's shoulders are broad enough to take a joke - that of being called a limey. <BR><BR>I have used the term 'Yank' as a friendly term for our American cousins. I had no idea that it had negative connatations (sp?)for Americans from the South.
Sep 25th, 2002, 06:07 PM
#18
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Over there, over there!<BR>Send the word, send the word, over there!<BR>That the Yanks are coming, the Yanks are coming,<BR>The drums rum-tumming ev'rywhere!<BR>So prepare, say a prayer, send the word, send the word to beware!<BR>We'll be over, we're coming over,<BR>And we won't come back 'til it's over Over There!<BR><BR> <BR>
Sep 25th, 2002, 06:24 PM
#19
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As a US grad student in the Midlands 17 yrs ago, I was often but always affectionately called a Yank. Sometimes a retort or a bit of political commentary was called for, but never a cause for offense. One just becomes briefly an ambassador for ones self and ones country ; but that's travel anytime.
Sep 25th, 2002, 06:29 PM
#20
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PS My great g'mother, years ago, who was from Scotland, would refer to herself as "Scotch" I think this is an affectation to call one's self "Scottish" in the last 50 yrs or so? Would the current indiginous Scots please w/ this? Also she pronounced scone "scawn" and I've heard both which is correct?
