Americans' inability to distinguish between England and Britain (idea)

England is not Britain. Sounds obvious doesn't it? But far too many people use the words as synonyms for each other. To be fair to the septics it's not just an American thing, even the English make this mistake from time to time.

Let's clarify things a little:

• England: the country comprising most of the southern half of the island of Britain
• Britain or Great Britain: a term meaning the combined countries of England, Scotland and Wales including those offshore islands which are directly ruled by Parliament
• United Kingdom: Britain (as described above) as well as Northern Ireland
• British Isles: A geographical term meaning all the islands around Britain (and there are thousands), including the whole of Ireland ,the Isle of Man and possibly the Channel Islands

So England is most definitely not Britain. It's not even half of it by area -- although about 80% of the population of Britain do live in England. This isn't a mistake you'd ever hear a Scot, a Welshman or an Irishman make, but it does seem to be a common meme in the USA. I remember I was in Philadelphia for the turn of the millennium, watching the world celebrate the Year 2000, and when the camera turned to Edinburgh the reporter said:

And now we go over to Edinburgh, traditionally the city in England where New Year is celebrated the most ...

I imagine any Scots who were watching CNN at that moment probably threw a brick through their TV sets ...