Going to Hospital

I have always been struck by the fact that the British say “go to hospital,” and Americans say “go to the hospital.” Likely, neither British nor American usage is completely logical in their use of “the” in these and similar phrases, but I try to make sense at least of American usage in a new essay of mine called “Going to Hospital” in the Language Notes section of my Web site. Comments are welcome, of course, particularly if you have any insight into such phrases that has eluded me.