Preposition: in/on the square - "on the square" (2025)

Here is a previous thread on this very subject: IN/ON the square

I found it by typing "in on square" into the Dictionary Look-up box at the top of the page (set to English definition).

GreenWhiteBlue said:

In AE usage (which in this matter is different from BE usage), to be in a square is to be in the area the square itself covers, while to be on a square is to be along the edge. One would say that Nelson's Column is in Trafalgar Square, but the National Gallery is on the square. In Prague, the Wenceslaus Monument is in Wenceslaus Square, but the Hotel Europa is on the square.

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So in British English the expression on the square does not exist?

teksch said:

And, to further complicate this matter, “on the square” (in AE) could also mean to be honest and truthful. For example, “Joe asked Dan if this deal was on the square.”

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This has the same meaning in BE.

Interesting, Porteño - I'm sure I'd use "on the level", not "on the square" for the 'honest/truthful' meaning.

eva84 said:

So in British English the expression on the square does not exist?

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We certainly do tend to use "in the square" rather than "on the square". But I've learnt here to avoid saying that things "don't exist" or "are never said"

Loob said:

I think you need a new thread for in/on the island (maybe there's been one before: I haven't checked, I'm afraid)

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I searched the forum but I haven't found anything...

We usually use in and on as already explained: in the boundaries, on the surface. How we imagine a "field" depends on our local culture and what type of "field" we mean:

In the field of mathematics.
On the football field.
In Flanders fields.What kind of square is the original question about? The Trafalgar Square type, the kind of square the boll weevil was "settin'" on, or something else?

Hi all. Coming back to this questions of all times.

Here is the sentence (said by a British person): "Yeah location is good but every time there's an event on the square it's a nightmare".

Again, usually events happen in the square, within the square, but can it really happen ON the square?

Yes. All events taking place in the square happen on the flat surface of the square.

Just like there are pieces on a chessboard, which is s square.