The UK...For Our US Members

[Stevicus]

I’ve shared the crack in both parts of paddy land.

I'm not familiar with this phrase, but I won't even try to guess as to what it means.

 

[Audie]

Great Britain is the big island that contains England, Wales and Scotland

Ireland is the smaller island to the West of Great Britain where The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland are

The United Kingdom spans both these islands, but not all of Ireland due to The Republic being a separate and independent country

What is so great about it?

 

[Eddi]

What is so great about it?

It's the largest of "The British Isles"

Hence it is called "Great Britain"

It's "Great" as in big, not "Great" as in fantastic or brilliant

 

[Audie]

It's the largest of "The British Isles"

Hence it is called "Great Britain"

It's "Great" as in big, not "Great" as in fantastic or brilliant

Ah so desu ka.

We have very mixed feelings about
G.G., here.

 

[Shaul]

Don't forget about the Crown Dependencies of the Isle of Man, the Bailiwick of Jersey and the Bailiwick of Guernsey which are separate from the United Kingdom but for whom the United Kingdom is responsible.

 

[beenherebeforeagain]

Don't feel bad. In my experience, many Americans are ignorant of this kind of thing (often about the US, let alone anywhere else) and plenty of Brits don't know (or care) about the specifics regarding the UK.

Well, yes, it's "1066 and all that" isn't it?

 

[Heyo]

What is the difference between the UK, Great Britain, and England?

I don't recall learning this school, but I slept through much of the first 10 grades and may have been "distracted" in the last two years.

In my experience, some of us on this side of the pond conflate these, but there is a difference.

The UK consists of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Each is its own country, but part of the Kingdom. The Republic of Ireland is not a part of the UK.

Great Britain consists of all of these except Northern Ireland.

England is a country that is a part of Great Britain and the UK.

If you guys already knew this, I'll gladly accept that I'm the one that remained in ignorance as a result of my own doing and move on. But if there are others out there like me, it's a PSA.

Time to repost CGP Grey's explanation. Besides from the outdated information that the UK is a member of the EU the rest is still accurate:

 

[England my lionheart]

I'm not familiar with this phrase, but I won't even try to guess as to what it means.

The “crack” is humour,like jokes and having fun,it’s a term used in Ireland.

 

[rocala]

yes, and I was aware of England's conquests

Oh dear Salix, all these lessons appear to have been in vain. Overwhelmingly these were British not English conquests. An awful lot of Irish, Scots and Welsh took part both militarily and as settlers. It is very rude to continually ignore them.

 

[rocala]

What is so great about it?

I believe that it is a reference to size. In an earlier period of map making it was to distinguish us from Brittany.

 

[RestlessSoul]

Having been the guest of a Welsh patriot during a visit and been treated to seeing a castle where the "valiant Welsh" sadly lost to the English invaders, the lesson that England is not the UK was emphasized. "Great Britain" did not come up but if it had, I would have been treated to a discourse on how the Welsh were NOT "British".

Actually the Welsh are more British than any other occupants of this island; after the Romans left, the Angles, Saxons, Jutes etc pushed the Britons out of what eventually became England, into the inaccessible west of the island.

 

[rocala]

pushed the Britons out of what eventually became England, into the inaccessible west of the island.

While I agree with the main thrust of your post, I think that more recent research both in archaeology and DNA makes the "pushed" theory likely to be a lot less severe than was originally thought. Assimilation seems to be gaining considerable acceptance.

 

[RestlessSoul]

While I agree with the main thrust of your post, I think that more recent research both in archaeology and DNA makes the "pushed" theory likely to be a lot less severe than was originally thought. Assimilation seems to be gaining considerable acceptance.

Aren’t we all at least 40% Danish anyway? Lots of Scandinavian surnames in Yorkshire.

 

[rocala]

Aren’t we all at least 40% Danish anyway?

A lot of the Danish DNA comes from the Norman conquest, as many were descended from them. The Vikings got their genes into the mix in numerous ways.
Take the case of the wonderfully named Sygtrig Silkbeard, King of Dublin. His grandfather was a Viking leader with an Anglo-Saxon wife. Sygtrig had an Irish mother and an Irish wife. His granddaughter Ragnailt married a Welshman, and many of their descendents inter-married with Anglo-Norman families. It has all been an incredible melting pot, which, I feel, makes our internal squabbles look rather petty.

 

[RestlessSoul]

A lot of the Danish DNA comes from the Norman conquest, as many were descended from them. The Vikings got their genes into the mix in numerous ways.
Take the case of the wonderfully named Sygtrig Silkbeard, King of Dublin. His grandfather was a Viking leader with an Anglo-Saxon wife. Sygtrig had an Irish mother and an Irish wife. His granddaughter Ragnailt married a Welshman, and many of their descendents inter-married with Anglo-Norman families. It has all been an incredible melting pot, which, I feel, makes our internal squabbles look rather petty.

That is indeed a wonderful name

 

[Secret Chief]

Yes, and I was aware of England's conquests, either by my formal education or my own study, but it's becoming increasingly clear that students in the US were, for whatever reason, kept in ignorance of the present day environment.

It disappoints me that I even had to create this thread.

I thought that for Americans this part of the world just consisted of London?

 

[Secret Chief]

The “crack” is humour,like jokes and having fun,it’s a term used in Ireland.

Craic.

Enjoyable conversation.

- craic — definition, examples, related words and more at Wordnik

 

[Secret Chief]

Fun fact. There are still laws against blasphemy in Northern Ireland, presumably because of the entrenched religious bigotry.

 

[RestlessSoul]

I thought that for Americans this part of the world just consisted of London?

Tbf, that goes for many Londoners.

 

[Secret Chief]

Tbf, that goes for many Londoners.

True. But then north of Watford Gap there's no gas or electricity.