Tory

From RationalWiki

The U.K. Conservative & Unionist Party, Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition, is often referred to as the Tory Party. This appellation is quite general and is even used by its own members at all levels despite its less than complimentary origin: from the Middle Irish word tóraidhe, modern Irish tóraí — outlaw, robber. It was first recorded in this political usage in the last quarter of the 17th century.

The "Tory" party in the U.K. is now the right wing party, such as it is.

N.B.: Despite its name, the Conservative party's current leadership and policies would still be seen as possibly to the left of the U.S. Democrats.

In North America the word has generally retained its pejorative emphasis:

• During the American Revolutionary War, "Tory" referred to a resident of the colonies who supported the British; many, including Benjamin Franklin's son William, fled the country during and after the Revolution, moving to Canada or back to the British Isles.

• During the American Civil War Tory was used in a derogatory manner in the southern states, referring to southerners fighting for the North.

In Cambridge, Massachusetts, the moonbat capital of the East Coast, Brattle Street, between Harvard Square and the Watertown border, is sometimes called Tory Row due to the large number of big, very old houses and the Revolutionary-era population of Royalists who lived in them.