Denise:
in re:
>I'm relieved to know that the term "Brit" isn't an insult. The only other
>noun I know of that can be applied to an individual Brit is "limey" and I'm
>pretty sure that one's an insult. I don't know why, though.
Brit is about as insulting as Yank. I think it's the spirit of it.
Limey is another matter; it comes from the 18th century British navy, where
common sailors were often referred to as limeys because of the quantity of
lime juice they drank to ward off scurvy. It's a derogatory term from that
period, and it's stuck for some reason. I think it was actually the Yanks who
coined this one, though I'm not positive. It's insulting, but something along
the lines of calling one of your brethren from South of the Border a greaser
or a wetback. I understand that in return, they refer to you as Anglos,
though I'm not certain how insulting that is ;) As an aside, the Brits'
version of a similar insult for us Irishmen is usually Paddy.
I'm not too certain how seriously anyone takes these epithets these days;
I've certainly never (well, not recently, anyway) punched anyone out for
calling me a Paddy or a Mick. I've called a couple of my English friends
'limey' to their faces, in jest, and never had my head stove in for it. I
haven't tried, yet, calling them 'Democrats'. I'll see how that works and let
you know.
Corey
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