the.com/telly
The box that raised a nation while pretending to merely entertain it.
means British informal shorthand for television, or the TV set itself.
from Simply a shortening of 'television,' with the chummy '-y' ending English loves to tack onto words to make them feel cozier and more familiar — the same instinct behind 'brolly' for umbrella or 'choccy' for chocolate. It caught on as common British slang in the mid-20th century, right alongside the device itself becoming a fixture in homes.
- origin
- British slang shorthand for television, coined early 1900s
- usage
- mostly UK and Australia, Americans say TV
- irony
- named after a device, now means every screen
- culture
- telly addict implies charm, TV addict implies concern