r/AskABrit

Whenever there is a reference (both online and in real life) to the “most prestigious university in the world” or the “most famous university in the world”, the university being named will always be either Harvard or Oxford.

I failed to find a single instance where Cambridge is named.

This just confuses me because Oxford and Cambridge are always depicted as equals in their prestige, but if this is true then why is Oxford always the one that gets singled out as the top?

Hello everyone,

I’m so sorry if this sounds like a really unintelligent question, but I’ve been wondering about it for a long time.

I read in the Cambridge Dictionary that Great Britain and Britain are often used to refer to the UK. And this is what I was taught in school that “London is the capital of Great Britain”.

I’d really appreciate your thoughts. Thank you very much!

When I was in primary school (I'm 33 now) cursive was taught as standard and it was expected of students. However, according to my nephew (who is in year 5) it's not something that they teach anymore. With higher education in particular, everything is submitted digitally, so is it really a dying skill? I've written in cursive my whole life and don't thing I could stop if I tried.

I am on the market for a new sofa, looking for a solid 3 seater that is big enough to lay down on as well. Wanting to avoid Ikea and find somewhere with good quality and prices.

Any suggestions?

Cheers x

Edit: I am so impressed with the amount of feedback I have gotten! Thanks everyone so much.

Hey.
Me (M19) and my best friend (M20) want to go on a one week vacation to England. We are searching for a small city (not more than 30.000 inhabitants), that has a variety of pubs, is near the coast (not more than 30km to the coast), and still gives the feeling of traditional old England and has a lot of villages nearby.
I don't know if a place like this exists, but if you know one I would be very thankful if you answer me!
Thank you very much!

I’ve wondered about this for decades. My wife and I have travelled to the UK from the US since the early ‘90s on multiple occasions on holiday. We most often stay at country house B&Bs or in pubs where they serve breakfast. In every case I can think of, when breakfast was served the toast always came cold in a cute little rack.

I’ve never understood why you’d want to eat toast that isn’t warm enough to melt butter but I never wanted to ask any of my hosts as I didn’t wish to imply something was wrong and seem ungrateful. Each time we encountered this, I figured it is one of those cute cultural differences and I just scraped on as much unmelted butter as I could manage and soldiered on.

But with this subreddit, I see my chance to lay the mystery to rest without making my host feel uncomfortable. Can some Brits help me on this one? What is the appeal of cold toast? I’m especially interested now that I’ve acquired a Marmite addiction; I can’t fathom eating it without a good puddle of well-melted butter to go with it.

Edit: To say thank you to everyone replying to my question. I learned a lot!

It has always seemed to me that hot toast with melted butter was a universal good. In my world, toast is a melted butter delivery system. I never thought of it as ‘soggy’ unless it was over buttered and allowed to get cold; allowing toast to get cold always seemed a universal bad to be avoided at all costs. It shows me how we are all bound to and by our cultures.

Alas, there are people who like their toast on the cool and crispy side, almost like a cracker, and who enjoy their butter thick enough and unmelted enough to show teeth marks - I had no idea!

Nor did I suspect that that classism might be afoot in this preference for toast racks and cool toast, that it had history among the more fortunate in society, that it marked one out as above a commoner.

But you Brits, like we Americans, are not a monolithic group and preferences skew both ways. To be expected, I suppose.

Again, many thanks for your responses!

In Britain a lot of communication seems to live entirely between the lines as opposed to a much more direct communication style elsewhere.

​What is an unspoken rule or social code here that foreigners almost always get wrong?

My mom wanted to see some of Europe so we’ve been traveling for some time. Compared to home, we have found most of Europe to be lacking in accessibility + convenient and safe transport for those with mobility restrictions. I’m not being ugly or meaning to be, and we did do our research beforehand and she decided the trip was still worth it, but gosh I never thought I’d have the give the US its flowers for anything lol. And of course we have significant issues with cities and states not fixing sidewalks and what not. I’m sure you all know we have our problems…infrastructure sometimes being the least of them. And in fairness, I suppose the infrastructure here was established in a time where accessibility wasn’t on the mind, but it’s been making me wonder how those in wheelchairs or with mobility aids fare in the UK, as that’s our next stop. The last time I visited (alone), I remember the public transit was accommodating but you had to share in advance if you needed a ramp (?). I remember once watching another traveler in a wheelchair waiting for a busy train, and the station attendant told them they’d have to take the other one as the train was full with everyone else pushing ahead. It saddened me. Anyway, I was wondering more so if we will need to book reservations with accessibility requests in advance for restaurants and activities. We have had a very difficult time a) finding restrooms and b) entering them successfully. The history and architecture of London’s older buildings is fabulous and enchanting until you’re trying to dine in a 5 story building with a bathroom on the 3rd floor and no elevator 😅😬. I know they can’t help it. I guess I’m just venting now, sorry.

I really appreciate your feedback, and I hope this doesn’t come across as judgmental or hateful. I love visiting Europe and there are a million things I prefer about the UK and other countries around here compared to home. You have a beautiful country and we are so excited to visit, I am just hoping to provide my mother with the dignity and comfort she & the rest of us deserve. A more accessible world benefits everyone :)

I’m looking to add a few smarter dresses to my wardrobe but I’m finding it hard to work out which shops here in the UK are good for occasionwear without going really formal.

I’m after something that feels smart but still wearable. Ideally a midi or maxi I could style with different shoes and accessories. I’d also rather buy something I can wear a few times than a dress that only works for one occasion.

When I was a kid I could not be near mayonnaise, it absolutely disgusted me but now I absolutely love coleslaw and potato salad!

Also only just came around to guacamole at the grand old age of 29

The NFL has had London games for almost 20 years. They have been expanding the schedule. Now there are 3 London games and games in several other countries tries too. Have these games piqued your interest in American football or could you really not care less?

So I recently wanted to move houses and initially thought my stuff would fit in a taxi. last minute realised it was too much for a taxi and began looking for man and van services. Most were companies that were already booked and didn't do same day service. so I rang up an independent guy, he immediately agreed but his quote was thrice of what other companies offered. I hung up, but he began negotiating and we settled for an amount, which was a bit more than other companies, but since it was last minute I thought it was fair. he helped me with everything and did his work perfectly. I kinda felt a bit guilty for booking last minute and making this guy rush through to help me and he seemed desperate for work. so when I made the final payment I tipped him a bit extra , he cheered up . but I was not sure how tipping is seen in uk? in some cultures its seen as rude to tip, its perceived as you are doing charity for them unasked. in some cultures its absolutely mandatory. how is it perceived in the uk?

And most people don't know the etymology and just assume the new nation is the owner.

Apple Pie

Dance music

Baseball

Car tire

Punk culture

I absolutely love learning about British culture. I recently watched a documentary following professional legal escorts. It actually seemed to be safer than the typical "prostitute" on the street. For instance, there was a "john" who had cerebral palsy and he used this service and it seemed to significantly increase his quality of life. I dont judge, i don't think people should look down on that especially in certain circumstances... what got me is the fact that there were certain aspects that could become illegal. How does one know when that line is crossed? Outside the obvious of course.

For me as an Ubereats driver with many new places locally I go to the same old ones in residential areas. One of them no one speaks English and that's partly why I go there. Because I don't want to make small talk

Also Iceland supermarket near me which now unfortunately has self checkouts. I used to like standing in the queue

When I was growing up Green Gage plum jam was an option. Now I’m older it not available in shops.
WHY? It’s my favourite! I can only buy it online from Amazon. I do not understand. Anyone have any inside information on this?

The job that had a well deserved reputation for being quite lax due to a lower natural workload, having non-critical tasks and difficult to measure performance metrics.

Council Administor

Admission Office for the local university

Health and Safety Officer

Retail Security Guard

Transit Inspector