Britannia
164
Bri·tan·nia /brɪˈtæniə/ a
female figure representing
Britain, formerly shown on
some coins. Britannia is usu-
ally shown sitting down,
wearing a HELMET, and hold-
ing a TRIDENT (=an ancient
weapon with three points,
which looks like a large
fork). Next to her feet she has
a SHIELD with the design of
the British flag on it. There
is a popular national song
called RULE BRITANNIA. →
see also ROYAL YACHT
Britannia
'Brit A,wards, the a set of
prizes given every year at a
public ceremony to the best
British popular musicians. There are similar prizes in the US
called the Grammy AWARDS.
britch·es /'brɪtʃɪz/ n [P] AmE for BREECHES
Brit·ish /'brɪtɪʃ/ adj 1 from or connected with Great Britain:
the British government 2 the British people from Britain
British people are traditionally considered
to be RESERVED (=quiet and unwilling to show their
feelings). They also try to 'keep a stiff upper lip' (=try to
seem calm when they are really upset or worried). People
sometimes say that the British don't like complaining
when they receive poor service, for example in a
restaurant. Some people now connect Britain with the bad
behaviour of English football HOOLIGANS who travel to
countries in Europe when their teams are playing there,
and with young people who get drunk at holiday RESORTS
in countries such as Spain and Greece.
,British A'cademy, the a society that was started in 1901
to encourage the study of language, literature, history, eco-
nomics etc. Most of its members are university teachers who
have done important work in their subjects. There is a similar
society for people working in scientific fields, called the
ROYAL SOCIETY
British Ae·ro·space /ˌbrɪtɪʃ 'eərəʊspeɪs/, abbrev. BAe the
former name of BAE SYSTEMS plc
,British 'Airways abbrev. BA the largest British AIRLINE
,British Board of 'Film Classifi,cation, the a special
committee in the UK whose job is to watch new films and
decide whether children or young people will be allowed to
see them. They give each film a CERTIFICATE, showing which
films can be shown to anyone (U), which can be seen by
children if an adult goes with them (PG), and which films can
only be seen by people over a particular age (12, 15, and 18).
For example, a film with an '18' certificate probably has a lot
of sex and violence in it, so can only be seen by people who
are at least 18 years old. There is a similar organization in the
US called the MOTION PICTURE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA.
,British-'born adj born in Britain: a British-born Australian
,British 'Broadcasting Corpo,ration, the the BBC
,British Co'lumbia abbrev. BC a PROVINCE in western
Canada, bordering on the Pacific Ocean
,British 'Commonwealth → see COMMONWEALTH
,British 'Council, the an organization that was set up in
1934 to represent the UK's interests abroad in areas such as
education and the arts, not in politics or business. A lot of
its work is connected with the teaching of English, and it
also supports educational visits between the UK and other
countries, and libraries, musical and theatre visits etc
,British 'Empire, the the group of countries formerly
connected with and controlled by Great Britain, which was
at its largest at the time of World War I, when it included 25
per cent of the world's area
,British 'Energy trademark a company formed in 1996 with
the privatization of English Nuclear Electric and Scottish
Nuclear
,British 'English n [U] the type of English used in the UK,
which is different in some ways from the English used in
other places, especially in its pronunciation and in some of
its words → compare AMERICAN ENGLISH
Brit·ish·er /'brɪtɪʃə/ n AmE a person who comes from,
whose parents come from, Britain
,British 'Film ,Institute, the a British organization which
encourages film making and manages the NATIONAL FILM
THEATRE
,British 'Gas trademark a company in the UK which produces
and sells natural gas, electricity, and telephone services. It
used to be owned by the British government but later
became part of a company called Centrica plc.
,British 'Home Stores the full name of BHS
,British 'Isles, the the group of islands that includes Great
Britain, Ireland, and the smaller islands around them, such
as the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man
,British 'Legion, the also the Royal British Legion a
British organization which helps people who have been in
the armed forces and their families. The British Legion col-
lects money by selling poppies (POPPY) for REMEMBRANCE
DAY.
,British 'Library, the the national library of the UK, with
centres in London and in Yorkshire, which receives a copy
of every book produced in the UK. Its large new building in
London was eventually completed in 1996, after many
delays and arguments about its design.
,British 'Lions, the the Rugby Union team chosen from
players from England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland to play
in international matches
,British 'Medical Associ,ation → see BMA
,British Mu'seum, the a famous building in London
which contains a large and important collection of ancient
art, writings, coins, drawings etc
,British 'National ,Party, the also the BNP a right-wing
British political party, started in 1982 by John Tyndall,
former leader of the National Front. The BNP believes that the
rights of white British people are more important than those
of people who are not white or who are IMMIGRANTS. Nick
Griffin (1959-) became leader of the party in 1999. He says
that the party is not RACIST, but in 1998 he was given a
SUSPENDED SENTENCE by a court of law for writing a maga-
zine article which INCITED (=caused or encouraged) RACISM.
The party does not have any MPs, but it does have COUNCIL-
LORS (=elected representatives) on many local government
COUNCILS
,British 'Open, the also the Open the most important
British GOLF competition, which is held every year in differ-
ent parts of the UK
,British 'Rail the national railway system of the UK, which
used to be owned by the government. In 1996 and 1997
parts of the system were sold to private companies such as
RAILTRACK and VIRGIN.
,British 'Summer Time abbrev. BST n [U] time shown on
clocks that is one hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time,
used in the UK from late March to late October → compare
DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME
,British 'Telecom abbrev. BT the largest company providing
telephone services in the UK. It used to be owned by the
government and was then the only telephone company in
the UK. Since it became a private company, other companies
have also been allowed to provide telephone services.
Brit·on /'brɪtn/ n (used especially in newspapers or in writing
about history) a British person: Fifty-five people were killed in
the plane crash, including seven Britons. | the ancient Britons
Brit·pop /'brɪtpɒp-pɑːp/ n [U] a type of British popular
music of the 1990s. It often has tunes that are easy to
remember, clever or interesting words, and is suitable for
dancing. It is usually played by small bands with a DRUMMER,
one or two GUITAR players, and a singer. Well-known Britpop
bands include BLUR and OASIS. → see Feature on page A
Brit·tan·y /'brɪtəni/ an area of northwest France with a long
coast, between the Bay of Biscay and the English Channel. It
is a popular place for British people to go on holiday.
Brit·ten, Ben·ja·min /'brɪtn, 'bendʒəmɪn/ (1913-76) a Brit-
ish musician, COMPOSER, and CONDUCTOR (=someone who
directs a group of musicians) known especially for writing
Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra (1945), A War Requiem
(1962) and the OPERAS Peter Grimes (1951) and Billy Budd