While I was watching a rerun of the British crime-comedy show “Death in Paradise,” there was a scene where the police find “fragments” of a torch at a murder site. This didn’t compute in my addled brain: “How can a torch have fragments? How about embers?”
But the fragments were glass. Huh?
Turns out that the British call flashlights torches. So what do they call torches with flames? Torches as well! I had to get my AI friend Gemini to explain it all to me, to wit:
It’s a classic case of one word pulling double duty. In the UK, they usually use the same word for both objects.
Context is usually the deciding factor, but if a Brit needs to be specific, here is how they distinguish between the two:
1. The Modern “Torch”
What Americans call a flashlight, the British call a torch. Whether it’s a heavy-duty Maglite or the small light on the back of a smartphone, it’s almost always just “a torch.”
2. The Traditional “Torch”
For the medieval-style stick with a burning flame at the end (the kind you see in Indiana Jones or a castle), they also use the word torch.
However, to avoid confusion, they might use more descriptive terms:
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Flaming torch: To emphasize the fire aspect.
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Burning torch: Often used in historical or literary contexts.
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Firebrand: A more archaic term for a piece of burning wood.
Makes perfect sense, right? Thanks for explaining it, Mr. Gemini.
