"Brits"

[nq:1]Cheney used the term "Brits" in the debate last night. Didn't the IRA invent the term and mean it to ... some discussion of whether it was proper. (Other terms meant to be insulting or derogatory which changed: "Big Bang", "Yanks")[/nq]
Cassell's Dictionary of Slang says only that it's 20th century.

RHHDAS quotes a British citation from 1901 in the OEDS, and then two from Ezra P

[nq:1]Cheney used the term "Brits" in the debate last night. Didn't the IRAinvent the term and mean it to be ... there was some discussion ofwhether it was proper. (Other terms meant to be insulting or derogatory which changed: "BigBang", "Yanks")[/nq]
We Brits do not perceive it as derogatory, by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, we use the term ourselves, when describing an interactio

[nq:2](Other terms meant to be insulting or derogatory which changed: "Big Bang", "Yanks")[/nq]
[nq:1]As to derogatory, that is not inherent in the word itself, but reflects the attitude of the speaker. If People ... oppressors, their term for People Y will reflect that. If they are friendly and respectful, it will reflect that, too.[/nq]
Exactly. Any term can be a malicious epithet if spo

A quick diversion. When I upped and offed from Britland 16 years ago, the most common spelling in English was still "Majorca" rather than the modern-Spanish "Mallorca". Any idea how/when it changed? And is it still pronounced "muh-YORK-uh" by most people, or on the Eyebeezer Principle has some weird hybrid, like "muh-LORK-uh", "muh-LYORK-uh" or something, now taken root?
[nq:1]I said something

[nq:2]We Brits do not perceive it as derogatory, by any ... was describing the hotel I visited in Mallorca this summer.[/nq]
[nq:1]A quick diversion. When I upped and offed from Britland 16 years ago, the most common spelling in English was ... If you look at the brochures, some holiday companies use the Spanish form, others the anglicised version of the name.[/nq]
About 20 years ago, the

[nq:1]We Brits do not perceive it as derogatory, by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, we use the term ... it before the troubles inNorthern Ireland started up again, circa 1974. So it seems possible that the term originated there.[/nq]
A bit older than that. OED says it's the earliest form, and dates it from 890 in OE, and 1535 in modern English. This use, though, distinguishes Brits fr

[nq:1]Actually, it is not even as simple as that. Every year, theairlines have to deal with a few people who ... they have booked up for is in Malorca(2) (1) "j" as in "jet" (2) "l" as in "lament"[/nq]
Weow, stansta reason, innit? The wa'er don' tase like wha' i' ough'er.
Mike.

[nq:1]RHHDAS has the note "Rare in the US before 1970's" and the first citation of the modern era is from Time magazine, 1964 'Yankee, go home!' ... '****** off, Brit!'[/nq]
Checking ProQuest, the Marine Corps Gazette uses it with scare quotes in July, 1961:
I think I could make a 30-minute talk on what a lot of pseudointellectuals and gutless wonders are bleating these days," Johnny said

[nq:2]RHHDAS has the note "Rare in the US before 1970's" ... Time magazine, 1964 'Yankee, go home!' ... '****** off, Brit!'[/nq]
[nq:1]Checking ProQuest, the Marine Corps Gazette uses it with scare quotes in July, 1961: I think I could ... more expensive television sets should do so with their eyes open. Television sets cannot yet be regarded as long-range investments.[/nq]
That is good ad

[nq:1](snip)[/nq]
[nq:2](Other terms meant to be insulting or derogatory which changed: "Big Bang", "Yanks")[/nq]
(snip)
[nq:1]You must know some meaning of "Big Bang" that I don't.[/nq]
Not the meaning, but the origin. The phrase was coined by Sir Fred Hoyle, an astronomer, as a funny name to denigrate the theory. But it has since become the standard term with no derogatory connot