A love of pubs, the Sunday Roast and talking about the weather have topped a list of things which make us ‘typically English’.
Reaching for a brew when the going gets tough, a stuff upper lip and ‘moaning’ also made the top 50 list.
Among the more unusual traits were a desire to see English sports teams, like our World Cup squad, fail and ‘asking people about their journeys’.
The study, carried out by Wells Bombadier Beer among 5,000 adults also found ‘irony’ and ‘being down-to-earth’ are considered uniquely English.
Chris Lewis of Wells Bombardier Beer said: ”We can support England this summer by waving our English flags with pride and also remembering all those typically English traits that make our country what it is.
”No other country has an institution like the great English pub – and what better way to show your support for England this summer than heading down your local, supping a pint of English cask beer and keeping that stiff upper lip – especially watching the football.
”England is a truly unique country and these typically English traits just go to show the breadth of characteristics, interests and idiosyncrasies that make this country what it is.”
Saying sorry, enjoying wit and ‘sarcasm’ emerged as traits which are the sole property of the English.
Not wanting to ‘make a fuss’, a love of bargains, washing the car on a Sunday and an ability to laugh at ourselves also made the list.
Reading newspapers, our ‘clever’ sense of humour, wanting a good tan and working long hours were also included.
The study also found almost three quarters of people believe enjoying a beer in an pub is ‘typically English’.
A Sunday roast, the only time when most families get together, was voted by 71 per cent of people as their favourite part of the week.
Talking about the weather was the third most popular trait according to 64 per cent of people – with the temperature, outlook and forecast being discussed at least five times a day.
People also have a habit of spending hours in queues, gossiping with the neighbours over the garden fence and curtain twitching.
English people also love celebrities, pets, mowing the lawn, reading the newspaper, DIY on a bank holiday and greasy fry-ups.
Further down the list were a fondness for mowing the lawn, looking uncomfortable on the dance floor, leaving things to the last minute and aN inability to express our emotions.
Keeping our homes neat and tidy, achieving against all odds, punctuality and being softly spoken also made the top 50.
TOP 50 TYPICALLY ENGLISH TRAITS
1. A love of pubs
2. Love of Sunday Roast
3. Talking about the weather
4. A soothing cup of tea to ease worries
5. A stiff upper lip
6. Moaning
7. Queuing
8. Watching soaps
9. DIY on a Bank Holiday
10. Eating meat and two veg
11. Saying sorry
12. Enjoying satire and wit
13. Sarcasm
14. Irony
15. Not wanting to ‘make a fuss’
16. A love of bargains
17. Gossiping with neighbours over the garden fence
18. Obsession with traffic
19. Inability to complain
20. A love of curtain twitching
21. Starting the day with a fry up
22. Washing the car on a Sunday
23. The ability to laugh at ourselves
24. Reading a newspaper
25. Clever sense of humour
26. Being overly polite
27. Love of the package holiday
28. Wanting a good tan
29. Working long hours
30. Taking the mickey out of others
31. Pandering to political correctness
32. Being unhappy with our weight
33. Being proud of where we live
34. Obsession with pets
35. Obsession with celebrity culture
36. Feeling uncomfortable when people talk about their emotions
37. Asking people about their journey
38. Fondness for mowing the lawn
39. Looking uncomfortable on the dance floor
40. Leaving things to the last minute
41. An inability to express our emotions
42. Wanting our sportsmen / teams to fail
43. Obsession with the Royal Family
44. Love of rambling in the countryside
45. Down-to-earth
46. Keeping our homes neat and tidy
47. Achieving against all odds
48. Punctuality
49. Being softly spoken
50. Grounded
HERE IS A MUCH MORE REALISTIC LIST:Hypocrisy – never practising what they preach;pretending British/English are labels that apply to every British/English person when they only mean them to apply to Whites;solipsism;narcissism;ignorant;angry when you do not agree with them; eg, “That is your opinion?”;White men assume White women are property; eg, “Our women”;panicking when they realise how universally unpopular they are with other ethnicities; eg, “Why do they hate us so much?”;alcoholism;standing in doorways;impatient;using shopping trolleys as crutches;dependent on others for self-esteem;talk more than they do;not very good in bed;paranoid/schizophrenic;unfriendly;the desperate need for others to think them wonderful, so that they can think it themselves;puritanical fear of the pleasures and success of others;social snobbery;resentment at the loss of the British Empire;being poor listeners;being unable to objectively-define either Britishness or Englishness;always talking about themselves;being insincere & superficial;believing values possess a nationality; eg, “British values”;believing in legislating-for-love; eg, Laws against Sedition & Treason;believing Jobs have Nationalities; eg, “British Jobs for British People”;believing British people are better than anyone else; eg, Institutional Racism & Northern Ireland;
believing British/English means having only White skin;laziness; eg, Whites are owed a living since it should be: “British Jobs for British People”;having no culture other than pretending England is a great country with no examples of this greatness given;confusing the Personal with the Political; Wit with Sarcasm; Sex with Love; Irony with sincerity;being proud of other English people’s achievements as a substitute for one’s own lack of achievement;being angry – especially when told the truth about themselves;believing England to be unique with no evidence ever given;being unable to adapt to changing global circumstances;working long hours to avoid facing an empty personal life;wanting to get skin cancer by needlessly exposing themselves (& their children) to the sun;eating in front of the television rather than at the table;loving animals more than people;endlessly talking about the weather;poking their noses into other people’s business / talking about others for malicious reasons;schadenfreude;lack of genuine creativity in music, painting nor the arts
generally; except Shakespeare & Chaplin (neither of whom is
respected by the English, now);poor personal hygiene; eg, a dearth of domestic bidets & not washing hands after urinating;untidy homes;giving up at the first hurdle, then blaming it on Society;being loud and inappropriately aggressive to vainly conceal shyness;poor social skills;soccer hooliganism;drinking alcohol to lubricate the wheels of social interaction rather than engaging in affinity or empathy;whinging about others rather than taking personal responsibility for their own failings;inventing Political Correctness to conceal their fear of anyone (& anything) different;discomfort with emotions and sensations – their own and others;fear of intelligent people;obsession with Sex as a solace for lovelessness;lack of realism from living in a White supremacist fantasy world;fear of failure;fear of success;trying to get their friends to like them for fear that they actually do not
Well then, this guy is slightly mad :). That list may be true in some respects but certainly not all of it. I don’t believe in white supremacy and I go to a very diverse and multicultural grammar school in Cheshire, people don’t fear me for the reason that I am intelligent, I actually have a large circle of friends. We are taught about both Shakespeare and Chaplin in school and arguably the best inventions in history like the plane or telephone sprout from England
The plane was American and the telephone was Scottish.
I use the stiff upper lip, but I’m sure a stuffed one will work equally well.
Ftalker you are obviously bitter at the world BORING
Well that was a little extreme. One persons bad experience or dislike for Britain cannot sum it up a whole. Also racism works both ways…some people don’t seem to realize that.
I am in my twenties and I can also say that none of my friends like to mow the lawn or chat over the fence to the neighbours… so both lists are stereotypes that apply to some but not others. Most likely the people who answered this survey were of an older generation who have different values to most younger people.
Actually, ftalker is pretty accurate!
I think ftalker has hit the nail on the head and (I’m STILL proud to be British.