What makes the British British ?

It's beyond me other than queueing I dont think we are any different to anyone else.

Generally being polite and considerate.

Irony and sense of humour

Some years ago I read a book about the English. It gave many characteristics about being British but the main one it came down to at the end was our sense of fair play.

Stiff Upper Lip!

Constant moaning about Brexit.

I agree with all the examples you give NanKate.

I think we British have the ability to have a good laugh at ourselves.

I also think we "enjoy" using irony and sarcasm.

We also love a good moan about almost anything.

When you live abroad you see people who you know are English or British and wonder how you know.
Mostly I see it in the older generation as the young seem to be all the same.

I think it is also the sense of humour which has not much to do with the stand up comics of today. It is situation humour laughing about a mistake. Even laughing about yourself or being able to laugh at yourself in a serious situation.

How about on the Antiques Roadshow when an expert will tell the person their antique is worth thousands when they thought it was just junk? We British don't leap up and down or make a fuss, but just say "Oh Golly!" or "Good Heavens", which is exactly what happened last week. I love it .... and I love us !!

The ability to laugh at ourselves.
Always talking about the weather.
Queuing.
I would have said our sense of fair play but not sure it is so evident now.

Discussing the weather and complaining if it's either hot, cold, wet or dry.
Queuing and letting others push in.

Not stopping to talk to strangers we meet unless they have a dog, on which case it’s perfectly acceptable to stop and strike up a conversation about their dog ??

Being born in Britain?

I do that OldMeg.
Also phlegmatic -
" (of a person) having an unemotional and stolidly calm disposition. the phlegmatic British character"
The french lady who took on our cat said she's a british cat. Very phlegmatic. I had to look it up. Like stiff upper lip as
Though that has changed a bit recently, since Diana?

ps stiff upper lip as Squiffy says.

I think it is humour. I understand, we use humour in advertising far more than other countries.

We are, usually, self-deprecating, and tend not to make mountains out of molehills.

We do not over emote, Sparklehills comment about Antiques Road Show is a classic example. If that had happened in the US everyone would be screaming and OMG-ing.

Do yo know the bit in the film Notting Hill when Hugh Grant can't climb over a gate and keeps saying oops a daisy, and Julia Roberts can't stop laughing at how British that was. Very funny and made you hear it differently

Being over optimistic about our nations’ teams’ chances in international games!

A caller on the show last night said that she was talking to a foreign friend who was a bit down and she said to him ‘keep your pecker up’ which caused her friend to laugh who said it meant something quite different in his country. ?

I was waiting at a bus stop a while ago (don’t usually use the bus) and was getting a little anxious about people not queuing properly, just standing wherever. However, was relieved to see when the bus arrived everyone seemed to remember where they should be in the ‘queue’!

NanKate that always makes me laugh too. Your friend and I must be thinking the same thing ??

Definitely humour and self deprecation. Stiff upper lip, no blatant emotion from us.
Princess Diana's death excluded.
Just reading back and seems we mostly agree on things including discussing the weather and dogs.

Good manners - please, sorry, thank you, general politeness.

Holding a door open to let someone through? Not sure if other nations do that.