Big Ben to be renamed, "Elizabeth Tower,"

[woo me with science]

for the queen's diamond jubilee.



http://news.yahoo.com/big-ben-renamed-elizabeth-tower-report-232721084.html

[MinneapolisMatt]

1. Meh.

It will always be Big Ben!

Kind of like the Sears Tower is now something else. It's always going to be known as the Sears Tower!

[Cooley Hurd]

2. Temporary or permanent?

No one will use "Elizabeth Tower" ever. Never ever. It's been Big Ben for 170 years...

[Greybnk48]

3. Sorry Elizabeth. It's Big Ben. n/t

[11 Bravo]

4. I'm pretty sure it wasn't her idea.

[cwydro]

6. yeah...it's just a move afoot in Parliament.

Much ado about nothing...it will always be Big Ben, and I'm sure the Queen agrees.

[cthulu2016]

5. I doubt it's really named "big ben" so it doesnt matter

It has to have a formal name already that nobody uses

[annabanana]

10. You can be sure that the BELLS all have names . . . n/t

[obamanut2012]

13. The bell is called Big Ben, the tower has always just been Clock Tower

[hfojvt]

7. dang, I thought this meant

Rothlisberger was getting married or having a sex change.

[Ron Obvious]

8. Big Ben is the name of the bell...

Big Ben is the name of the bell...

I say this as someone whose doorbell chimes out that well-known tune.

[obamanut2012]

9. Big Ben isn't actually called Big Ben

And, Big Ben is the bell, not the tower.

Good for ER!

[Old Union Guy]

11. Big Liz

I love it.

[woo me with science]

19. LOL! nt

[hootinholler]

24. Shouldn't that be something like Loud Liz or Big Betty

To keep the alliteration alive.

[obamanut2012]

12. Big Ben is the BELL, not the tower

It has always just been the bell. The tower is just called the Clock Tower. Or rather, was, until now!

Victoria has her name all over everything, so glad to see EII have a chance. She also always gets extra kudos from me for being a WWII vet.

If you are ever able to go on a tour of Parliament, do it!

[PCIntern]

14. Washington, DC. To be renamed Reagan, DC

In memory of Ronnie the Blessed.

I do recall that when the airport was renamed Reagan, many. RWers stated that it hadn't been named after anyone in the first place.

[TheCowsCameHome]

17. Dear Gawd, don't give them any ideas.

You know they they would if they could.

[lynne]

15. The tower is being renamed. The clock will still be "Big Ben" - eom

[FreeJoe]

16. In the US...

...we would sell the naming rights. It would be the Timex Clock Tower or some such nonsense.

[TheCowsCameHome]

18. Sounds like a porn-star name.

Well, it could be.........

[muriel_volestrangler]

20. Big Ben: The Tower With Five Names

Big Ben: the universal, popular name for the tower, repeated throughout the world. Pros: everyone knows what you’re talking about, and it has a nice ring (pun sort-of intended). Cons: purists don’t like it because Big Ben is strictly the name of the bell.

St Stephen’s Tower: regularly used in newspapers, guide books and by ‘that bloke down the pub who likes correcting people’. Pros: sounds more official than Big Ben. Cons: it’s completely incorrect. St Stephen’s is another (smaller) tower over the main public entrance.

The Clock Tower: a term used within the Palace and its communications. Pros: it’s the official name. Cons: it’s too ambiguous a term to gain popular currency — there are many clock towers in London let alone the world, and calling it the Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster is too much of a mouthful.
...
The east tower: a description of Big Ben seen all over the press today, presumably pasted in from the same media release. Pros: avoids the whole name problem by using a geographic term. Cons: it’s rather confusing considering Big Ben is at the northern end of the complex, not the east, and there are a few smaller towers more easterly than Big Ben.

http://londonist.com/2012/06/big-ben-the-tower-with-five-names.php

[Bucky]

21. I thought "The Clock Tower" was in Hill Valley, California

The one that was struck by lightning in that eerie night in 1955.

[Fawke Em]

23. You win the thread!

[Bucky]

22. From now on, I plan to call the Queen "Big Ben II"

And Prince Consort What's-his-face I'll call "Quasimodo" cause he rings her bell.

[pokerfan]

25. Large Liz?

Okay.......

[athenasatanjesus]

26. I see England hates the Pittsburgh Steelers.

They must root for the Ravens.

[TheManInTheMac]

27. They've been calling police headquarters "New" Scotland Yard since 1890.

I just don't see this name change sticking.

[LiberalFighter]

28. That name suggests a place where they behead people.

[stlsaxman]

29. But- Big Ben is the bell in the tower... not the tower.