When someone says they’re going into “town”, what does that mean to you?

[Hairbrush123]

Having a debate with DH and wonder what this term means to other people? To me, it means going into the centre of the town I live in

Local town centre but I am Midlands and North, when near London (ie you can get into London in less than an hour) then going in to or up to town would be going into London

Up to town means London

@DahliaMacNamara

I live on the edge of a very small town, and if I say I'm going to town, I mean the local shops. Anywhere else and I name the destination. I've never lived close enough to London to think of it as 'town'.

Same here. I did use to work with someone who meant London when he said he was going up to town. Quite a pretentious snob he was.

Going to the shops in the town i live.

I wouldnt call going into london " going to town" despite living less than an hour away.

I live in Kent. Town is central London to me.

Going to central London here. We live about 20miles out.

I live about 2kms from a smallish town, and about 10kms from a city. Going into town means the city, going down the town means the smaller one. I don't suppose that helps you though.

Going to the local city centre for whatever reason.

'Going into/to town' = London. Local town centre id say 'Going into Blah.

I live in London outskirts and use the expression to mean heading into centralish London

"Go to town (on)" also means going in hard on someone though

Where I grew up, "up town" meant the town centre and "into town" meant the nearby city centre.

Here it would mean going into the nearest city. If you were actually going into the town you live in you'd be "going to the shops"/ "going down the street". The English language is very odd!

@Hairbrush123

Having a debate with DH and wonder what this term means to other people? To me, it means going into the centre of the town I live in

Same as you

For us, it means going into central London.

To me it's going to the nearest big city. A local town would be going to (town name).

@LtJudyHopps

If I say “i’m going to ‘the’ town” I’m going to the local town. If I say “I’m going in to town” I’m going in to London (she says as a Londoner)

This. We live in z5, I go into town if i'm heading into central London.

To me it means going anywhere in the nearest city. Whether that's the supermarket, soft play with DS or the shops.

Going to the nearest urban centre, typically for a bit of shopping, running errands, maybe get a chance to meet other people ("I'm going to town, would you like me to bring you back anything from the shops/post something for you at the post office/meet up with you at our favourite coffee shop/etc.)

Doesn’t matter whether you're in London or near a small village, "town" is where "urban life" happens (e.g. not a purely residential area, somewhere with shops and banks and restaurants and what not)

@HoundOfTheBasketballs

"Into" town means going to the shops where I live.

"Up to" town means going to London.

Yes this is what we’d say up town would be London, into town local town centre.

Going into town means going to local shopping centre.
Going into London is "going Central" as in Central London or when I was young everyone used to say going up West which meant Oxford street !

I live in a town but for me it would mean going to my nearest city

It means going into Newcastle obvs

Isn’t t always ‘up to London’?!

I live in a town in Essex…but if someone said they were going ‘in to town’ it would mean they are going in to London usually

Going to the West End. But I live in London.