For the love of God can adults please stop saying uni

[CressidaEgg]

Let's reclaim the five syllable word. University. It grates to read MNers talking about their DC going off to "uni" or even about their own time at "uni". Just call it what it is: university.

Prior to everything being amalgamated and upgraded to universites, there were also colleges of higher education. Slough and High Wycombe colleges of Higher Education, for e.g. - at least one of which was incorporated into Thames Valley University.

So it was possible to do diplomas at college (but not degrees), which are the stage beyond A levels.

This reminds me of the time I mortally offended a colleague by asking where her ds was going to college (which is how universities were referred to where I grew up). She was most miffed that I implied he was "only" attending a FE college.

It does sound as though it was common to say ‘uni’ in Scotland back in the 1980s.

It definitely wasn’t in use where I grew up though!

It's sounds stupid to say university, very Hyacinth Bucket imo

I grew up in Central Scotland in the 1980s and did all my University applications circa 1990. It was not a common term in my experience.

At school the teachers said uni, xmas deadline for ucas, what uni are you applying to.

I'm with you, but probably only because we didn't do it in my day! Don't Americans shorten it even more and talk about a 'U'? I'm more exercised by the childish use of 'amazing' = 'remarkable' - 'two amazing women...' etc, but that's irrelevant.

We could call it collage. Yes, with an a...

Don't Americans shorten it even more and talk about a 'U'?

UConn UPenn etc yes.

But not just U on its own no.

U of Virginia etc. I have been reading “Death of a Salesman!”

Thanks so much for your response tartyflette and may you stay in excellent health and never wind up in hospital.

It’s very easy to blame the Americans, but remember we have UMIST at Manchester, over here in li'l old England.

but remember we have UMIST at Manchester

'Had', not 'have' - it amalgamated with the (Victoria) University of Manchester to form the University of Manchester.

We do still have UCLAN , are there any others which are generally referred to as U...

Oh, now that's just plain confusing. So "ManU" can now refer to Manchester United thugball club or the University of Manchester.

So "ManU" can now refer to Manchester United thugball club A bit harsh. We call them 'Manure'

No self respecting Mancunian refers to united as ManU.

As for the the uni's it's Manchester uni and man met

I tend to hear them referred to as just 'Manchester' or MMU.

Tangentially and probably apocryphally, I heard that Northumbria narrowly escaped from being called the City University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

I am rather ambivalent about this.

On the one hand, I can sympathise with the OP. "Uni" sounds ugly; it is lazy speech; it lacks precision; and sounds like a crass attempt to sound trendy.

On the other, I think I’d always say someone has a "2/1 BA (Hons.) " rather than an "upper second class batchelor of the arts degree with honours."

No self respecting Mancunian refers to united as ManU.

As for the the uni's it's Manchester uni and man met

Self respecting Mancunian here. I went to Manchester University. Mum went to Manchester Metropolitan back when it was Manchester Poly. I call it ManU sometimes.

/shrugs/

What is Manchester United?

I first heard it on Neighbours.

I am still, to this day, upset by the fact that Plain Jane Superbrain didn’t get to go to uni, even though she was cleverer than everyone else. She had a makeover instead.

It's never 'U of Virginia' - that is 'U-V-A'.

UConn, UCLA, USC, NYU, and UIC, are the only universities I can think of off the top of my head, along with UVA, where the U is included in everyday references. I'll probably come up with more when I'm trying to fall asleep later...

The University of Pennsylvania is known as Penn. The University of Illinois is 'Illinois', and then 'Michigan', 'Iowa', 'Wisconsin', etc to refer to flagship state 'schools'. Similarly, 'Northwestern', 'Marquette', 'Loyola', 'William and Mary', etc with no U or University included in general references.

Then there are places like 'Mizzou' (University of Missouri)...

UConn's basketball team are the 'Huskies'. Geddit?

UConn's basketball team are the 'Huskies'. Geddit?

Many American colleges have a mascot animal or avian. Why not a dog?

Where I live we have SUNY and it's dozens of campuses. SUNY Albany, SUNY Binghamton, SUNY Purchase.

Calling it uni does increase the chances of it being spelled correctly.

Getting quantities right bugs me. If you can count them, they are a number, if it is the size of something it is an amount.
You don't have an amount of people, they can be counted so therefore a number.

No, can you not tell us what to do? Thanks.

Uni is widely accepted and I can't remember the last time said it in full.