spiros

The English and schadenfreude

The English feel schadenfreude even about themselves. Martin Amis

12 years ago

I was very grateful that I didn’t do the British stiff upper lip

And so I was very grateful that I didn't do the British stiff upper lip, but I went straight to…

12 years ago

Empire built with a Bible in one hand, a pistol in the other

The Germans are called brutal, the Spanish cruel, the Americans superficial, and so on; but we are perfide Albion, the…

12 years ago

Britain, Onanistan and malakas

This is a letter I received from a reader ages ago: Since you are a linguist and seem knowledgeable on…

12 years ago

Thatcher simply did not give a shit about people

Thatcher was not a strong or formidable leader. She simply did not give a shit about people, and this coarseness…

12 years ago

Is that sign language you’re talking?

This is a story as related to me by a Greek student in the UK. She had been to a…

12 years ago

The British class system revisited

Recently the BBC came up with a test (with the pretentious name of "Great British Class Survey") so that every Brit…

12 years ago