Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand, where the overwhelming majority of native English speakers reside, do not have English as an official language de jure, but English is considered their de facto official language because it dominates in these countries.
Most sovereign states have alternative names. Some countries have also undergone name changes for political or other reasons. This article attempts to give all known alternative names and initialisms for all nations, countries, and sovereign states, in English and any predominant or official languages of the country in question.
Opinion is divided on the origin of the term. "Chav" may have its origins in the Romani word "chavi" ("child") or "chaval" ("boy"), which later came to mean "man". [3] [8] [9] The word "chavvy" has existed since at least the 19th century; lexicographer Eric Partridge mentions it in his 1950 dictionary of slang and unconventional English, giving its date of origin as c. 1860.
The phrase has been used widely in British English since the late 1980s, a development partly attributed to the success of Australian soap operas such as Neighbours in the United Kingdom. [ 16 ] The phrase "no wucking forries" has the same meaning in Australia; as a spoonerism of "no fucking worries", [ 3 ] [ 17 ] and is contracted to the ...
In a 1973 Northern Ireland referendum, voters in Northern Ireland were asked to decide if they wanted to remain in the United Kingdom or to leave and join with the Republic of Ireland. They voted in favour of the United Kingdom by 98.9% to 1.1%, although Irish Nationalists boycotted the vote. [14] Scotland: 18 September: 2014
Since 1922, the United Kingdom has been made up of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales (which collectively make up Great Britain) and Northern Ireland (variously described as a country, [1] province, [2] [3] [4] jurisdiction [5] or region [6] [7]).
In 1755 Samuel Johnson published his A Dictionary of the English Language, which introduced standard spellings of words and usage norms. In 1828, Noah Webster published the American Dictionary of the English language to try to establish a norm for speaking and writing American English that was independent of the British standard. Within Britain ...
Slang word Meaning Original phrase JF: Tenner (10 British pounds) John Fennah Aristotle: Bottle: Bottle Aris: Arse (backside) This is the result of a double rhyme, starting with the original rough synonym "arse", which is rhymed with "bottle and glass", leading to "bottle".