Mayor vs Lord Mayor

[JPablo]

Is there a difference between "Mayor" and "Lord Mayor"?

Is "Lord Mayor" used only in Great Britain? Commonwealth?

What about the US?

[BenCondor]

I'd only heard the word "Lord Mayor" but had no idea what it was until I just did a little research. It is essentially like a mayor, but of a particularly large and presumably important city, giving the position extra stature. However for most nations which have a Lord Mayor it is a purely ceremonial post. Thus, I am assuming, the "regular" mayor would actually have the executive responsibilities of the city. The notable exception to this rule seems to be Australia, in which such Lord Mayors actually do have real political power. Here are Australian cities which (according to wikipedia) have Lord Mayor posts: Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, Hobart, Melbourne, Newcastle, Parramatta, Perth, Sydney, and Wollongong.

In the United States, I assure you, such a post doesn't exist, and in fact sounds quite funny. Like holding a golden scepter up high and claiming you're "King of the Mud Puddle"

[JPablo]

Ha-ha!
Thank you, Ben. That kind of gives me a good idea.

[BenCondor]

Yes, what makes it so funny is that a mayor, in the US, is a fairly modest position. Sure they sometimes gain recognition for this or that accomplishment, but by and large a mayor is about the lowest rung among the politicians who actually appear in the newspapers.

On the other hand, Lord has such a pompous, old-fashioned sound to it. In the US you hear Lord you just think of an old geezer sipping Scotch and reminiscing over the glory days of the British Empire.

Put Lord and Mayor together and it could be quite hilarious in the hands of the right talent. I'm sure Saturday Night Live could do some great skits around this idea.

[JPablo]

Ah, thank you for the clarification... these nuances escaped to me...

(By the by, when you get to a high level of Spanish I recommend you "El Cansino Histórico" by José Mota... with a lot of Manchego dialect, but repetitive enough and funny enough so as to be able to practice...) (But that's another subject, even if funny at that)