Little Englander

American  

noun

1. an English person who believes the best interests of Britain are served by attention to Britain itself, rather than to the concerns of the empire.

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Little Englander British  

/ ˈɪŋɡləndə /

noun

1. (esp in the 19th century) a person opposed to the extension of the British Empire

2. informal a person who perceives most foreign influences on Britain's culture and institutions as damaging or insidious

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Little Englandism
  noun

Etymology

Origin of Little Englander

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

Powell, along with many contemporary Brexiteers, could be called a Little Englander.

From The New Yorker • Nov. 11, 2019

The Little Englander of The Blood Donor is the kind of person whom you’d hear on a local radio phone-in today: a misinformed, suspicious bloke who can’t admit he’s wrong and pontificates about everything.

From The Guardian • Oct. 25, 2014

Despite the common caricature of him as a Little Englander, he has a better handle than many Westminster-based politicians on the nuances of EU politics.

From BBC • Mar. 26, 2014

An opera-lover who speaks French, German and Spanish and owns a house in the south of France, Mills, 75, says he is no "Little Englander".

From Reuters • Aug. 6, 2013

But that business, as you call it, Chamberlain, which you made so many of us understand for the first time—I was a "Little Englander" myself, once—that's still going on.

From Angels & Ministers by Housman, Laurence