Current Use
References to the 'cricket test' now mainly appear in the media in terms of sports fans' direct behaviour rather than as a metaphor - team supported, colours worn, ticket-buying patterns, sportsmanship, nationalities of players, etc.
National identity is now seen to be more flexible than first thought, especially in multicultural, urban societies where people commonly speak two or more languages, and may belong to families formed from multiple cultures. Mutability and complexity of national identity is a major reason for the restriction of the use of the phrase to literal, rather than metaphorical use. The whole issue is also a notably individual one, so that broad claims such as Tebbit's original statement can easily be accused of generalising and stereotyping.
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Famous quotes containing the word current:
“I have come to believe ... that the stage may do more than teach, that much of our current moral instruction will not endure the test of being cast into a lifelike mold, and when presented in dramatic form will reveal itself as platitudinous and effete. That which may have sounded like righteous teaching when it was remote and wordy will be challenged afresh when it is obliged to simulate life itself.”
—Jane Addams (1860–1935)
“Liberty, as it is conceived by current opinion, has nothing inherent about it; it is a sort of gift or trust bestowed on the individual by the state pending good behavior.”
—Mary McCarthy (1912–1989)