A thing I feel I should know

[slemslempike]

The phrase "UK PLC". At first I thought it was a way of moaning about the way the country is run like a business instead of a country (sort of like people saying Bliar instead of Blair), and then I got the impression that UK PLC was an actual thing, like the business arm of the UK, and now I am just confused. It's not a real thing, is it? Googling says that UK PLC is a company that specialises in web domains. I would like to know what people mean when they say it, and also the sort of people that do say it so I can form ill-judged opinions more readily.

Comments

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

Yes, this is very much how I remember it as well. I think even Mrs Thatcher may have used it. She was of course very fond of comparing Britain to a business when she wasn't comparing it to a household ("Any housewife knows that the money you spend on gin can't be spent again on nappies.")

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

Is that an actual quote from her?

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

No! But she did often invoke the thrifty housewife who knew the value of money and had more common sense in her little finger than a summitful of economists.