# How is the word Gerrymander used in the UK? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 12, 2022, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-word-gerrymander-used-in-the-uk/974819 "2022-11-12T22:41:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2022, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-word-gerrymander-used-in-the-uk/974819/41 "2022-11-13T22:48:58Z")
…“Aussies’ favourite putdown,” that you concede sometimes “NZers get annoyed” with, that you consider to be a a “sexual fetish”, is in no way comparable nor analogous to a self-selected term like “kiwi.” ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2022, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-word-gerrymander-used-in-the-uk/974819/42 "2022-11-13T23:24:59Z")
> [@Thylacine](#): > > jerry rigged In the UK we are more likely to say \*“jerry-built”. \* Often thought to refer to Germans, but it dates back to the 18th century and probably to a character in Foote’s “The Mayor of Garret,” 1764. Also, see _jury-rigged_ which has a similar but different meaning. More recently, Germans were better known for demolition than shoddy building. ---
**Author:** ![UDS1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47774/32.png) [@UDS1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS1)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2022, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-word-gerrymander-used-in-the-uk/974819/43 "2022-11-14T01:06:33Z")
> [@Thylacine](#): > > I was referring to the first sentence “ It remains the Aussies’ favourite putdown for Kiwis” but ok. Yes, but casual racism disguised as humour is fairly common in Australia. This doesn’t really make it any less offensive. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2022, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-word-gerrymander-used-in-the-uk/974819/44 "2022-11-14T01:48:59Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > In the UK we are more likely to say \*“jerry-built”. \* Often thought to refer to Germans, but it dates back to the 18th century and probably to a character in Foote’s “The Mayor of Garret,” 1764. Also, see _jury-rigged_ which has a similar but different meaning. Points upward > [@Acsenray](#): > > I’ve always understood the terms as “jury-rigged” (improvised) and “jerry-built” (shoddy), not “jerry-rigged.” ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2022, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-word-gerrymander-used-in-the-uk/974819/45 "2022-11-14T12:23:48Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I’ve always understood the terms as “jury-rigged” (improvised) and “jerry-built” (shoddy), not “jerry-rigged.” Put much more succinctly than I did - thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2022, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-word-gerrymander-used-in-the-uk/974819/46 "2022-11-14T13:54:01Z")
Another Brit agreeing with the above. I suspect the scriptwriters conflated all 3 terms by mistake. I don’t think this is a common difference in usage between British and American English. Having said that, the term “gerrymander” does mean to manipulate something nefariously in order to bring about a particular result, which does seem to apply to the situation in the OP, so maybe it 's just intended as a wider usage of the term than the usual narrow, political definition. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2022, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-word-gerrymander-used-in-the-uk/974819/47 "2022-11-14T19:37:59Z")
> [@Dead\_Cat](#): > > so maybe it 's just intended as a wider usage of the term than the usual narrow, political definition. Entirely possible. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2022, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-word-gerrymander-used-in-the-uk/974819/48 "2022-11-14T21:16:36Z")
The US political meaning doesn’t really apply in the UK - electoral boundaries are set by a non-partisan commission with a great deal of consultation, and with some sense of natural communities, by re-assembling pre-existing polling districts like building blocks. What sort of shape the outcome makes on the map doesn’t feature as a consideration. ---
**Author:** ![UDS1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47774/32.png) [@UDS1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS1)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2022, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-word-gerrymander-used-in-the-uk/974819/49 "2022-11-15T00:15:15Z")
Well, gerrymandering doesn’t really happen in the UK because of the processes for drawing electoral boundaries. But the _meaning_ of the word certainly applies; those processes were established in order to prevent gerrymandering, and everyone will understand what you mean when you say that. And, of course, there are historical examples of gerrymandering in the UK. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-word-gerrymander-used-in-the-uk/974819.md?page=2)