I know there aren't many people around these days to weigh in with an opinion but I have a question about names and levels of formality that has cropped up on another board.

The name of our prime minister (ludicrous middle names notwithstanding) is of course Boris Johnson. When talking about him I usually refer to him as Boris because, to me, this seems to be impertinently informal. I use it as a mark of disrespect. It has been suggested that it sounds friendly and cheery and that I should use Johnson. But to me that sounds more respectful than Boris. So here is my question how would you rank these ways to talk about him from most disrespectful to most respectful.

Boris
Johnson
Boris Johnson
Mr Johnson
Mr Boris Johnson

Note, I know that in America it's quite unusual to refer to the President, or a former President in any way other than President Xxxxxx (Surname)* but referring to a British Prime Minister as, for example, Prime Minister Johnson, is almost unheard of.

(*Though I do like the creative ways Colbert finds to refer to your previous president without ever using his name.)

How about Bore is? Or Boris Badinoff? (From the opera, Boris Godinov)

We can add lots of things we'd LIKE to call him but my question is more about the order of disrespect/respect with the ones I've written.

If one is addressing him in writing, "Johnson" sounds pretty darned impertinent. On the other hand, if talking about him out loud, any of those (with the possible exception of "Boris Johnson") can be made to sound highly insulting, depending on intonation.

Which reminds me, I do love those "Questions for the Prime Minister" sessions occasionally broadcast on CSPAN. Parliament members for the most part raise insult to a high art, while maintaining a touch of humor and gamesmanship. The rest play spectator as though at a badminton or perhaps tennis [but certainly not cricket or soccer] match with their chorus of nays/ yeas/ s-s-s/ boos etc. This is salutary, and I wish US Congress had the same tradition.

Let's not forget this: https://www.yourdictionary.com/johnson

quote:

Originally posted by Geoff:
Let's not forget this: https://www.yourdictionary.com/johnson

I knew exactly what that link would be without clicking it.
The meaning doesn't work in the UK though because although we have many useful words for that member (of Parliament), that isn't one that's used here.

I'd call him BJ since in my ideolect that makes Bojo closer to an irrumator.

And while we're at it: what's up with that scarecrow mop-top look?

quote:

Originally posted by zmježd:
I'd call him BJ since in my ideolect that makes Bojo closer to an irrumator.

And while we're at it: what's up with that scarecrow mop-top look?

Believe it or not there is an actual answer to that. Multiple sources have claimed that he deliberately messes up his hair before any public appearance because being a clown is part of an adopted persona so that people don’t take him seriously and he can get away with things that he might normally not be able to.

quote:

Boris
Johnson
Boris Johnson
Mr Johnson
Mr Boris Johnson

Thankfully to those of you in the UK, he is out of there!

Mr Boris Johnson
Mr Johnson
Boris Johnson
Boris
Johnson

My list.

quote:

Originally posted by Kalleh:
]

Thankfully to those of you in the UK, he is out of there!

I can safely assume that you don't know much about the two people most likely to replace him then. Liz Truss, another hard line Brexiteer who doesn't understand a thing about the deal they negotiated and signed, has all of his faults plus a staggering level of sheer incompetence. She is the kind of person you could sell the Brooklyn bridge to. She is also one of those "trickle down" believers who, against all experience, believes that taxes for the very rich should be cut as low as possible as this will get them to invest and thus benefit everybody. The fact that time and again this has been proven not to happen and that the rich just say "thanks very much" and pocket the extra cash doesn't figure in the calculations.
She is almost certain to be the next PM but the alternative is Rishi Sunak who has similar policies, though he feels that inflation (currently at a forty year high of 9.4% and predicted to continue rising) needs to come down first. What he hasn't said is how he intends to tackle inflation. Both he and his wife are among the wealthiest in England and she, thanks to his kind of policy, manages to avoid tax in England because she is Indian AND tax in India because she lives in England.

It's pretty certain that the 100,000 party members who are the only ones who get a say in who our next PM is will choose Truss and at best she will only be as bad as Boris was. What has the world come to? I suppose we should be grateful that Jacob Rees-Bring-Back-Feudalism-Mogg didn't stand or Nadine "No I'm the stupidest MP" Dorries.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: BobHale,