# United Kingdom, England, Britain, Great Britain, what's the difference? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 10, 2002, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-kingdom-england-britain-great-britain-whats-the-difference/102786 "2002-04-10T04:31:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2002, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-kingdom-england-britain-great-britain-whats-the-difference/102786/21 "2002-04-10T19:22:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Keeve \* > Anyway, can someone help this 'merkin out on some lingo here? I am very sure that “Oz” refers to all of Australia, and I thought a “kiwi” was a New Zealand resident, though the context makes me suspect that it’s really an Australian. But I never heard of a “pom” before - Whuzzat? A Kiwi is a New Zealander not an Australian. Pom is an Australian’s disparaging term for a British person. There are various explanations given for it’s origin, and [this site](http://www.quinion.com/words/qa/qa-pom1.htm) gives a discussion of some of them. Maybe an Aussie will be along in a minute to give you some more. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Polycarp \* > I was told some years ago that the Channel Islands are the remnant of the Duchy of Normandy (as in William the Conqueror’s pre-1066 domain) and still have an official status – and that Elizabeth II is officially Duke (not Duchess) of Normandy in consequence of this. I smell a faint scent of U.L. in the story, though. Anybody got any light to shed on this? [This site](http://www.gbz.org.uk/ukcd.htm) and [this one](http://www.alt-usage-english.org/whatistheuk.html) might clear it up for you. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2002, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-kingdom-england-britain-great-britain-whats-the-difference/102786/22 "2002-04-10T19:32:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by everton \* > … various explanations given for **it’s** origin… Whoops, I realise that apostrophe shouldn’t be there. And while I’m here, we don’t drink our beer warm or boil all our food etc. etc. There have been lots of threads about all this stuff. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2002, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-kingdom-england-britain-great-britain-whats-the-difference/102786/23 "2002-04-10T21:58:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kal \* > \*\* > > So now we have situation of MP’s from other UK countries being able to vote on matters that just affect England, whilst the reverse isn’t true. I’m sorry for being so dense but I still cannot understand how, when devolution took place, England didn’t get a parliament.\*\* For the reason I already mentioned - English MPs and English concerns dominate the UK governmental institutions, and England has not found it necessary to seek a devolved government to have its concerns properly addressed in its own interests at a UK level. They find the outcome of UK government decisions as they affect England broadly satisfactory. If they didn’t, there would be signficant agitation for devolution in England. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2002, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-kingdom-england-britain-great-britain-whats-the-difference/102786/24 "2002-04-11T00:56:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Aspidistra \* > \*\*Next up: ‘America, North America, USA - is there any difference?’😃 \*\* USA is the United States of America, of course. North America includes the countries of Canada and the USA (including Alaska). America is the same as the USA, but several countries in South America also have united states under one federation. Central America is the isthmus connecting North and South America. ---
**Author:** ![KinSaba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7bcc69/32.png) [@KinSaba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KinSaba)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2002, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-kingdom-england-britain-great-britain-whats-the-difference/102786/25 "2002-04-11T01:21:09Z")
North America also includes Mexico. ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2002, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-kingdom-england-britain-great-britain-whats-the-difference/102786/26 "2002-04-11T05:47:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Polycarp \* > \*\*I was told some years ago that the Channel Islands are the remnant of the Duchy of Normandy (as in William the Conqueror’s pre-1066 domain) and still have an official status – and that Elizabeth II is officially Duke (_not_ Duchess) of Normandy in consequence of this. I smell a faint scent of U.L. in the story, though. Anybody got any light to shed on this? \*\* I visited Guernsey about a year ago. The Channel Islands are Baliwicks. They have their own governments and Guernsey had its own currency. You could spend British money in Guernsey, but Guernsey money was no good in Britain. It seems that not all the Channel Islands have the same status, either. [**Today, Sark retains the last remaining feudal constitution in the Western world; neither part of the United Kingdom nor European Union, yet not a sovereign state either.**](http://www.sark.info/images/photos/photo_intro01.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2002, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-kingdom-england-britain-great-britain-whats-the-difference/102786/27 "2002-04-11T12:57:24Z")
The Channel Island are not part of the European Community even though the rest of the United Kingdom is. I am not sure about the status of the Isle of Man regarding the EU. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2002, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-kingdom-england-britain-great-britain-whats-the-difference/102786/28 "2002-04-11T14:11:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rayne Man \* > **The Channel Island are not part of the European Community even though the rest of the United Kingdom is.** The Channel Islands are not even a part of the United Kingdom. The Isle of Man is not a part of the United Kingdom and is not a member of the EU. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2002, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-kingdom-england-britain-great-britain-whats-the-difference/102786/29 "2002-04-11T14:50:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by barbitu8 \* > \*\* > > USA is the United States of America, of course. North America includes the countries of Canada and the USA (including Alaska). America is the same as the USA, but several countries in South America also have united states under one federation. Central America is the isthmus connecting North and South America. \*\* North America is all the countries from Panama north to Canada. Central America is a subset of North America. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-kingdom-england-britain-great-britain-whats-the-difference/102786.md?page=1)