GB / UK?

As the family fount of all knowledge (ho, ho) I was called upon the other day to settle a dispute between the grandchildren over the respective meanings of "Great Britain" and "The United Kingdom". It's surprising how many people do not fully understand the difference, including - if my granddaughter has got her facts right - her geography teacher! So for the record, Great Britain is a geographical term for the big island we live on - i.e. England, Scotland and Wales. The United Kingdom is a political grouping and consists of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The British Isles by the way, is the geographical term for the whole sheboosh - Great Britain, Ireland and all the other little islands around and about. What may surprise you is that the Isle of Man, whilst part of the British Isles, is not part of the United Kingdom. It is what is called a Crown Dependency, which basically means that it looks to us for its security, and to represent it internationally, but is otherwise independent. The same thing, by the way, applies to the Channel Islands.