Case 15: Nationality is not the same thing as country name

11th June 2002

Filed by: Officer Bird

The Offence

In their report on the London Marathon, Debut win for Radcliffe, 14th April 2002, the BBC report that:

With one eye on the clock, [Paula Radcliffe] piled on the speed right to the end and crossed the finish line as the fastest ever Britain over the 26.2-mile distance.

The Verdict

Oh dear. ``Britain'' is a country; a British citizen is a ``Briton''.

The Sentence

We sentence the BBC to spend some of the licence-payers' money on half-decent web-server hardware so their site doesn't run like a dog. Also to be taunted mercilessly in a sarcastic and profoundly unhelpful language-nerd web-site.

Next case!

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