What does Blighty mean to you?

[Shabbychic]

The documentary channel UKTV People has now changed it's name to Blighty, with the slogan "One Nation under a Channel". There seems to be a bit of confusion as to what Blighty actually means. Some say it means Britain and others that it means England.:confused

It probably won't really make a difference in what they show, because usually any programme shown under the heading "Britain" is about London, people of London, famous people from London, royalty from London and let's not forget about good old London.:roll:

I have always taken Blighty to mean England, and just wondered how others saw it.

[SNOWDOG]

The Oxford Dictionary says, Noun (informal) Britain or England as used by soldiers abroad.

[Anji]

I always thought Blighty meant England too, but if you Google it, you'll see that it refers to Britain.
You learn something every day!

[Kodiak]

"Blighty" was derived during the War where soldiers who were wounded would ask if they had a "Blighty". If the wound was bad enough for them to be shipped home then they would have received a "Blighty"

Hence the name "Blighty" has been come to known as a a name for you home, where ever that might be. Be it England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, but most now take as being Britian.

[SNOWDOG]

The documentary channel UKTV People has now changed it's name to Blighty, with the slogan "One Nation under a Channel". There seems to be a bit of confusion as to what Blighty actually means. Some say it means Britain and others that it means England.:confused

It probably won't really make a difference in what they show, because usually any programme shown under the heading "Britain" is about London, people of London, famous people from London, royalty from London and let's not forget about good old London.:roll:

I have always taken Blighty to mean England, and just wondered how others saw it.

You cant have the Home Counties Broadcasting Service showing an interest in the colonies dont you know! ;)

[Shabbychic]

I've noticed that it is defined as Britain or England, but the problem is, many folks abroad see England as Britain or Britain as England. So is it really seen as Britain or does that mean England?

Oh dear, I sound like a conundrum.:confused

[router]

Blighty is more of a military term for britain, also the name of a magazine brought out in the 1930's, aimed at soldiers.

its stems from the arabs. The word they use is wilayat means Ministry or Kingdom.

First used by the indians for the saabs of the british forces, it means Foreigner.

[Melancholy Man]

Blighty is more of a military term for britain, also the name of a magazine brought out in the 1930's, aimed at soldiers.

its stems from the arabs. The word they use is wilayat means Ministry or Kingdom.

First used by the indians for the saabs of the british forces, it means Foreigner.

I didn't know that, and will add it to the many Anglo-Indian words we still use. Also, the use of dekko (which I suspect has a separate cognate with deik via Gypsy cant) or shufti would indicate whether a squaddie had done his service in India or Egypt respectively.

[kmahon2001]

I always thought Blighty meant England too, but if you Google it, you'll see that it refers to Britain.
You learn something every day!

I have an even more restricted view of Blighty. I always think of the South Coast of England (particularly during WW2). It conjures up images of Portsmouth, Southampton, Plymouth etc but most of all I think of the White Cliffs of Dover. Probably because it's a term most associated in my mind with the Navy. I also associate it with that really over-exaggerated BBC accent and people being "frightfully nice" to each other and tripping over their stiff upper lips. [lol]

[Fran]

Soldiers always talked about home in Blighty, which they meant as home in england. It's nice to hear the expression again, haven't heard it in years.I will be going to blighty in a couple of months.

[JAWS]

Kmahon2001, I suspect the reason Blighty tends to be associated with the South Coast Navy Ports is that most of the Military returning from abroad from the old Empire would have been landed there.

Melancholy Man, now you've got me thinking about something I've never given a thought to before.
Where I lived as a youngster we would say to somebody who had something, "Let's have a dekko" or "Give us a shufti", either word was interchangeable because the both meant you wanted to look at it.
I have never given a thought to where either word had come from before and it's many years since I either heard or used either of them.

[zeppellin]

The documentary channel UKTV People has now changed it's name to Blighty, with the slogan "One Nation under a Channel". There seems to be a bit of confusion as to what Blighty actually means. Some say it means Britain and others that it means England.:confused

It probably won't really make a difference in what they show, because usually any programme shown under the heading "Britain" is about London, people of London, famous people from London, royalty from London and let's not forget about good old London.:roll:

I have always taken Blighty to mean England, and just wondered how others saw it.
The word 'Blighty' derives from the Hindu word 'Bilayati' which was a term used by Indians in the sub continent when referring to British soldiers during the first world war. British soldiers then took the word and used it to refer to home, hence 'Blighty'

[anneoctober]

I have an even more restricted view of Blighty. I always think of the South Coast of England (particularly during WW2). It conjures up images of Portsmouth, Southampton, Plymouth etc but most of all I think of the White Cliffs of Dover. Probably because it's a term most associated in my mind with the Navy. I also associate it with that really over-exaggerated BBC accent and people being "frightfully nice" to each other and tripping over their stiff upper lips. [lol]
Absolutely spot on Old Chap ;)

[percy toboggan]

Yes...dear old blighty. Are it's natives to be regarded as 'Blighters' ?
In which case it must be Londoners ;-)...if there is still such a thing.

I cannot dis-associate the component parts of this big small island from each other though so any reference to it from those who miss its comforts means the whole shooting match as far as I'm concerned. Britain is blighty. Blighty is Britain.