United Kingdom

Not to be confused with England, England and Wales, Great Britain or, god forbid, the European Union.

With feeling, there is:

• England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as four discrete political entities. Does not include the Republic of Ireland.
• England and Wales, and Scotland, and Northern Ireland, as three discrete things each of which has its own devolved legislature. Does not include the Republic of Ireland.
• Great Britain the political entity comprising England, Wales, Scotland, and their outlying islands (such the Isles of Wight, Anglesey, and Shetland), but which does not include Northern Ireland nor, needless to say, the Republic of Ireland,
• Great Britain the geographical entity, being the largest single Island in the British Isles, comprising most of England Wales and Scotland, but not the parts that spill over onto little islands like the Isle of Wight. We are unsure what to think of “islands” like Canvey Island, the Isle of Dogs and, apparently, all of Essex, which are separated from the rest of Great Britain by water, but it is only river, not sea water. Unclear whether brackishness changes anything. People from Essex probably think it does.
• The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, being the political entity of Great Britain, as above, and Northern Ireland,
• The British and Irish Lions, being a rugby team comprising of representatives from England, Scotland, Wales and the island of Ireland (the Republic and Northern combined), and —
• The British Isles being the whole damn cotton picking geographical lot, including the Republic of Ireland.

See also

• Brexit means Brexit