It seems to me that this is a purely American idiosyncrasy.

In the UK, if we hear Washington mentioned, the vast majority think first of Washington D.C. I would suggest that the only people who would not might be those who live within ten miles of Washington, County Durham, and even they would only assume the local reference if it was mentioned by local rather than national media.

The same would apply to most major cities.

In the US the first thought seems to be of the local place, even in the case of cities as large and important as London and Paris.

The English have often been accused of being insular in their attitude to the outside world, but I suspect that the average UK citizen has a greater knowledge of the outside world than his average American cousin, and also a greater interest in it.

Don T.