‘Which British stereotype really grinds your gears?’ – 21 people who don’t like tea, queueing or ‘Spoons.’

National stereotypes can sometimes be a useful shortcuts to getting to grips with a country, but, as with most preconceptions, once you scratch the surface, they tend to fall apart.

They’ve been chatting about this on the AskUK subreddit after Late-Explanation-758 posted this…

‘Which British stereotype grinds your gears?’

And just in case you wondered what made them ask, they had a bit of context for you. Quite a lot, in fact.

‘It annoys me when people say British food is rubbish. While it’s true that some Brits have a terrible diet I think the options in the UK are perhaps second to none.

‘As far as I’m concerned a proper Sunday roast with Yorkshires, roast potatoes, stuffing and the works is the best dish on the planet.

‘In terms of breakfast, a full English done with right with the best ingredients and without the grease is as good as it gets in the morning.

‘Fish and chips might not be the healthiest but it tastes fantastic. I am also a big fan of Sausage and Mash, Bubble and Squeak, Steak and Ale Pie, Toad-in-the-Hole, Lancashire Hotpot and Sherpherd’s Pie.

‘Then there’s the Yorkshire tea and Tunnock’s biscuits and the myriad of local delicacies from the Highlands to Cornwall.

‘We also embrace the best of other cultures. You can find a great Indian, Italian, Chinese and Thai in most towns and cities. While the US is also good for world cuisine, we actually have proper food safety standards.

‘Thoughts?’

And people certainly had a lot of thoughts about the annoying ways in which we’re reduced to mere clichés, as the replies showed…

1.

‘That we like/enjoy queueing. We don’t enjoy queueing. We just all know it’s the fairest and most efficient way to wait for something.’
–Sea-Weird638

2.

‘The knife crime one. American knife murder rates are higher than ours per capita, you just hear about it over here cause thats about as bad as it gets normally.’
–imcheddarbeard

3.

‘Related to yours, British people’s teeth are generally fine on the whole.’
–Snave96

4.

‘That being working class means you should be racist.’
–HeadBat1863

5.

‘That southerners are soft, unfriendly AND rich.’
–Kind_Ad5566

6.

‘The “joke” that we need a licence to do anything, usually relating to a discussion about the TV licence. It’s not even something that’s unique to the UK.’
–nikhkin

7.

‘When they think we all have Cockney accents.’
–yaboipyro69

8.

‘Brit in US sick of hearing people say the same old stuff…

‘Do you know the Queen? Why don’t you guys have ambition? We won you the war! How do you eat that bland food? My fave… Is Britain in Europe or France?

‘I wish I was joking, on 4th July I make sure I stay in and keep my gob shut. And yes I have valid rebuttals to each question!’
–PerfectCover1414

9.

‘It doesn’t quite “grind my gears”, but probably people’s ideas of what British accents are like. Because most of the people I work with are from all over the world, but living in the UK, many of them come with zero understanding of regional accents and how varied they are.

‘I can’t remember where I looked it up, and I might be misremembering, but the kind of standard Estuary English people are familiar with is what the vast majority of people in the country DO NOT speak.

‘As a result, I’ve quite literally been told I do not speak English, or that I do not pronounce things properly, or have had my English corrected. However I am speaking English as my native language, and the way I sound is that.

‘I’m totally willing to speak slower, and somewhat dilute my accent a little to accommodate, but I expect others to respect regional variations and not treat them like they are something obscure.’
–Appropriate-End-5285

10.

‘That we all drink tea. I can’t even remember the last time I had it.’
–Trama_Doll_

11.

‘Not necessarily a “grinds my gears” with the world more US-centric, but when the US knowledge of our country’s geography being that they only know where London is, yet they expect us to know where every bloody state is and maybe when people at the time (RIP Queen Elizabeth II) referred to her as the “Queen of England”, completely disregarding the fact that Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland even exist.

‘USA, you’re not that important.’
–Blue_Toucan_Data

12.

‘That we can only talk about weather. No wait that one is true.

‘That we’re a nation of binge drinkers….

‘Wait I’ve got one. Northerners are friendly but thick and poor, whereas Southerners are clever and rich but not very friendly.’
–FrontCold6590