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9 Stereotypes About the British
How true are they?
As a Brit who’s spent almost half my life in other countries, I’ve encountered my fair share of assumptions about my fellow countryfolk. Some are fair and true and others are outdated or just plain wrong. Here’s a handful of these assumptions, and my take on them.
We all have beautiful accents. ✖️
Many of us do — particularly those of us who grew up in the South East (the land of the posh and well educated) and went to private school. I didn’t, and my accent is gardener variety, but I’ll never get tired of hearing how beautiful it sounds to Americans. Also, some of us sound like Martine McCutcheon in Love Actually. And our regional accents vary widely — which are beautiful and which are not is kind of subjective.
We all live in mansions and have servants. ✖️
Has there ever been a British character on American TV who doesn’t? Even New Girl Jess’ boyfriend was rich and posh and (of course) beautifully accented.
We drink tea a lot. ✔️
First thing in the morning, last thing at night, and a dozen times in between. The highest act of hospitality in the UK is bringing a cup of tea to a guest in bed — having first established exactly how strong they…
