# Does it annoy you when people just say "Saudi" to refer to the country? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 14, 2013, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-annoy-you-when-people-just-say-saudi-to-refer-to-the-country/647204 "2013-01-14T19:02:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-annoy-you-when-people-just-say-saudi-to-refer-to-the-country/647204/1 "2013-01-14T19:02:24Z")
Is it reasonable that it grates my nerves something fierce when people refer to Saudi Arabia as “Saudi?” The “Saudi” is a freakin…ummrm…grammar…uh…adjective or something. Using just that portion is like referring to the United States as “United”. The example that touched off my ire today is a headline that says “Saudi criticises world reaction to maid’s beheading.” Not “Saudi officials” or “Saudi spokespersn”. Just “Saudi”. I know, it’s common usage, like when I say “Hey, pass me the ranch” you know that I mean ranch dressing. Still, it bugs me. I’m going to go say everything perfectly today, as I always do, which gives me the right to criticize how others speak/write. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-annoy-you-when-people-just-say-saudi-to-refer-to-the-country/647204/2 "2013-01-14T19:06:57Z")
To be honest, I’ve never heard anyone use “Saudi” that way. Maybe I don’t read as much news as I think I do. If I read the headline you cited as your example, I would have assumed they meant a single Saudi person who made that criticism, not the country as a whole. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-annoy-you-when-people-just-say-saudi-to-refer-to-the-country/647204/3 "2013-01-14T19:09:27Z")
> [@Asimovian](#): > > To be honest, I’ve never heard anyone use “Saudi” that way. Maybe I don’t read as much news as I think I do. If I read the headline you cited as your example, I would have assumed they meant a single Saudi person who made that criticism, not the country as a whole. I used to notice it a lot with Gulf War I vets and military people, but I still run across it. On the topic of the headline, I did look in to the article and it doesn’t seem to refer to a specific person. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-annoy-you-when-people-just-say-saudi-to-refer-to-the-country/647204/4 "2013-01-14T19:09:30Z")
There isn’t a helluva lot of difference between Saudia Arabia and the Saudi royal family, so “the Saudis” is probably accurate in most usages. I’ve never heard anyone call the country just “Saudi,” though. Sounds like returning soldier shorthand. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-annoy-you-when-people-just-say-saudi-to-refer-to-the-country/647204/5 "2013-01-14T19:20:37Z")
I’ve only heard the term used to describe the people of that country, not the country itself. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-annoy-you-when-people-just-say-saudi-to-refer-to-the-country/647204/6 "2013-01-14T19:23:32Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > There isn’t a helluva lot of difference between Saudia Arabia and the Saudi royal family, so “the Saudis” is probably accurate in most usages. I’ve never heard anyone call the country just “Saudi,” though. Sounds like returning soldier shorthand. My uncle fled the U.S. to work in Saudi Arabia for a while. When he got back, he wrote a book called “It’s Saudi Duty Time” (unpublished so far). That was in the 80’s and the usage was common enough even then. I never thought there was anything wrong with it nor did it occur to me that there might be. ---
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-annoy-you-when-people-just-say-saudi-to-refer-to-the-country/647204/7 "2013-01-14T19:44:11Z")
I don’t think I’ve heard that and I wouldn’t say it myself, but I wouldn’t care. Call it a hellhole, because that’s what it actually is for women. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-annoy-you-when-people-just-say-saudi-to-refer-to-the-country/647204/8 "2013-01-14T20:13:04Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > I used to notice it a lot with Gulf War I vets and military people, but I still run across it. I think I’ve only ever heard one person use it, and he was a Gulf War I vet. It grated on me slightly, but I think that was because that guy was a bonehead and many things he did grated on me. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-annoy-you-when-people-just-say-saudi-to-refer-to-the-country/647204/9 "2013-01-14T20:14:49Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > I’ve only heard the term used to describe the people of that country, not the country itself. In that case it strikes me as a perfectly acceptable usage. There are plenty of ethnic Arabs who don’t live in Saudi Arabia. Calling citizens of that country Saudis seems a reasonable locution. Nay, a wise one. ---
**Author:** ![Sevencl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sevencl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sevencl)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-annoy-you-when-people-just-say-saudi-to-refer-to-the-country/647204/10 "2013-01-14T20:17:53Z")
With all the pejorative nicknames actual civilised nations are given, you’re upset that the worst thing people call Saudi Arabia is Saudi? > [@Blackberry](#): > > I don’t think I’ve heard that and I wouldn’t say it myself, but I wouldn’t care. Call it a hellhole, because that’s what it actually is for women. And gays, transsexuals, non-muslims, not-hardcore-enough muslims… ---
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-annoy-you-when-people-just-say-saudi-to-refer-to-the-country/647204/11 "2013-01-14T20:25:24Z")
> [@Sevencl](#): > > And gays, transsexuals, non-muslims, not-hardcore-enough muslims… Absolutely. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-annoy-you-when-people-just-say-saudi-to-refer-to-the-country/647204/12 "2013-01-14T20:34:26Z")
It annoys me, except for military folks for whom it is standard usage. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-annoy-you-when-people-just-say-saudi-to-refer-to-the-country/647204/13 "2013-01-14T20:36:45Z")
> [@Sevencl](#): > > With all the pejorative nicknames actual civilised nations are given, you’re upset that the worst thing people call Saudi Arabia is Saudi?And gays, transsexuals, non-muslims, not-hardcore-enough muslims… I guess we can change the name of it to “Intolerant Arabia”, then we’d just be able to refer to it as “Intolerant” and everybody would know where we were referring to. ---
**Author:** ![Capt\_Kirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@Capt\_Kirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt_Kirk)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-annoy-you-when-people-just-say-saudi-to-refer-to-the-country/647204/14 "2013-01-14T20:49:26Z")
Strikes me as a reasonable descriptor, the Country is ruled by the al-Saud family ie Saudis **Capt** ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-annoy-you-when-people-just-say-saudi-to-refer-to-the-country/647204/15 "2013-01-14T21:08:58Z")
It’s a headline. Headlines abbreviate thing. “Saudi Arabia” takes up far too much space. As does “Saudi Government.” It’s like Twitter, only fewer characters. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-annoy-you-when-people-just-say-saudi-to-refer-to-the-country/647204/16 "2013-01-14T21:24:57Z")
> [@realitychuck](#): > > it’s a headline. Headlines abbreviate thing. “saudi arabia” takes up far too much space. As does “saudi government.” it’s like twitter, only fewer characters. " " ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-annoy-you-when-people-just-say-saudi-to-refer-to-the-country/647204/17 "2013-01-14T21:26:23Z")
I seem to recall the military sitcom “Major Dad”, which was on during the first Gulf war, used the locution “Saudi” to refer to Saudi Arabia. ---
**Author:** ![Fact\_of\_the\_Matter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Fact\_of\_the\_Matter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fact_of_the_Matter)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-annoy-you-when-people-just-say-saudi-to-refer-to-the-country/647204/18 "2013-01-15T00:52:02Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > Is it reasonable that it grates my nerves something fierce when people refer to Saudi Arabia as “Saudi?” > > The “Saudi” is a freakin…ummrm…grammar…uh..adjective or something. Using just that portion is like referring to the United States as “United”. > > The example that touched off my ire today is a headline that says “Saudi criticises world reaction to maid’s beheading.” > > Not “Saudi officials” or “Saudi spokespersn”. Just “Saudi”. > > I know, it’s common usage, like when I say “Hey, pass me the ranch” you know that I mean ranch dressing. Still, it bugs me. > > I’m going to go say everything perfectly today, as I always do, which gives me the right to criticize how others speak/write. United States is a shortening of the United States of America, does that bother you as well? Do you always say “The United States of America”? Shortening of words and phrases is such a common human trait, I am not sure why it bothers you so much. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-annoy-you-when-people-just-say-saudi-to-refer-to-the-country/647204/19 "2013-01-15T01:16:28Z")
I hear it pretty often with foreign policy types. I always assumed there was some good reason for it. ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-annoy-you-when-people-just-say-saudi-to-refer-to-the-country/647204/20 "2013-01-15T02:05:24Z")
I lived there for a while as a kid in the 1960s. Dad was former USAF, and everyone called the county Saudi, not Saudi Arabia. We also referred to the US as the States. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-it-annoy-you-when-people-just-say-saudi-to-refer-to-the-country/647204.md?page=2)