# Why is the Brazilian flag at half-mast today? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 14, 2012, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-brazilian-flag-at-half-mast-today/643977 "2012-12-14T00:52:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![F.Pu-du-he-pa-as](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c89c15/32.png) [@F.Pu-du-he-pa-as](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.Pu-du-he-pa-as)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-brazilian-flag-at-half-mast-today/643977/1 "2012-12-14T00:52:59Z")
I walked by the Brazilian embassy today, and the flag was flying at half mast. Why is this? ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-brazilian-flag-at-half-mast-today/643977/2 "2012-12-14T01:21:59Z")
[Oscar Niemeyer.](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-20649859) ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-brazilian-flag-at-half-mast-today/643977/3 "2012-12-14T13:37:13Z")
> [@F.Pu-du-he-pa-as](#): > > I walked by the Brazilian embassy today, and the flag was flying at half mast. Wait? The Brazilian embassy is on a ship? ---
**Author:** ![Pitchmeister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pitchmeister/32/3459_2.png) [@Pitchmeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pitchmeister)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-brazilian-flag-at-half-mast-today/643977/4 "2012-12-14T15:06:48Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Wait? The Brazilian embassy is on a ship? Does it need to be to fly a flag? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-brazilian-flag-at-half-mast-today/643977/5 "2012-12-14T15:27:46Z")
> [@Pitchmeister](#): > > Does it need to be to fly a flag? A flag at half-mast? Yes. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-brazilian-flag-at-half-mast-today/643977/6 "2012-12-14T15:30:06Z")
A lot of countries and people don’t make the distinction between “mast” and “staff” for the pole on which one flies a flag. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-brazilian-flag-at-half-mast-today/643977/7 "2012-12-14T15:37:02Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > A flag at half-mast? Yes. Fucking pedants, pedants everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-brazilian-flag-at-half-mast-today/643977/8 "2012-12-14T15:45:19Z")
> [@hrhomer](#): > > Fucking pedants, pedants everywhere. And all the boards did shrink. > [@hrhomer](#): > > Fucking pedants, pedants everywhere. Nor any drop to drink. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-brazilian-flag-at-half-mast-today/643977/9 "2012-12-14T18:07:11Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > And all the boards did shrink. > > Nor any drop to drink. And all averred I’d killed a word, which caused this thread to flow. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-brazilian-flag-at-half-mast-today/643977/10 "2012-12-14T18:53:12Z")
Instead of the cross, the pedant About my neck was hung ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-brazilian-flag-at-half-mast-today/643977/11 "2012-12-14T18:54:07Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > A flag at half-mast? Yes. Incorrect. While the typical term used in the US is “half staff,” it is still correct to use “half-mast” even if the flag is not on a ship. From [Dictionary.com](http://Dictionary.com): > [@](#): > > half-mast (hfmst, häfmäst) n. > The position about halfway up a mast or pole at which a flag is flown as a symbol of mourning for the dead or as a signal of distress. Also called half-staff. > tr.v. half-mast·ed, half-mast·ing, half-masts > To place (a flag) halfway up a mast or pole. From [Wiki:](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half-mast) > [@](#): > > In the US, the term “half-mast” is commonly used colloquially to refer to half-staff, although US law and military tradition indicate that “half-mast” is generally reserved to usage aboard a ship, where flags are typically flown from masts.[3][4] Not all English-speaking nations observe this distinction.[5] > [@](#): > > The Flag of Australia is flown half-mast in Australia: > [@](#): > > The term half-mast is used in place of half-staff in Canada[6] and is not distinguished within the country’s flag code. [Australian War Memorial: flags at half mast](http://www.awm.gov.au/commemoration/customs/flags.asp) ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-brazilian-flag-at-half-mast-today/643977/12 "2012-12-14T19:02:04Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Incorrect. While the typical term used in the US is “half staff,” it is still correct to use “half-mast” even if the flag is not on a ship. I refuse to acknowledge this unless done in the style of Coleridge. Rime, Kubla Kahn or Christabel are all acceptable. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-brazilian-flag-at-half-mast-today/643977/13 "2012-12-14T20:14:39Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > I refuse to acknowledge this unless done in the style of Coleridge. Rime, Kubla Kahn or Christabel are all acceptable. From Brasilia, their embassy did fly a flag at half the mast. But “Ack!” a pendant made a scree: “It’s staffs by land and masts by the sea!” A law that grammar lambastes.