"generic nicknames like "Ginger" and "Nobby" are not used in this country. I believe they would be considered demeaning and insulting."
.,,.
Really. One knows from, eg Twain {Pud'nhead Wilson} & Runyon [passim] that nicknames are a part of your culture in certain circles & circumstances. How strange that they should be considered "demeaning & insulting" among schoolchildren. Ours have a battery of such -- some conventional, like "Nobby" Clark, some from physical attributes, like Ginger, Tich for the small, Lofty for the tall, & so forth. Not only in schools, of course; but in teams, the services, &c.

Ian -- was 'homophones' above in the list of those to whom you give no quarter, a joke or a typo? I think we should be told.

≈M≈