Me: Why's the flag lowered to have staff?
Him: Haven't you heard the Queen of England died?
Me: Wait, so we lower the U.S. flag for foreign dignitaries? Since when?
Him: We just do what we're told around here.
So am I so country bumpkin that I missed somewhere along the way that we lower our flag for foreign heads of state/dignitaries? Someone please enlighten me.
"Half Mast"
Is half-staff and half-mast the same? The term "half-mast" is preferred by dictionaries and seems more appropriate at sea (as ships have masts). "Half-staff" seems more appropriate on land, and is the preferred term used in the Flag Code and in Presidential proclamations. We call it a draw. The two terms may be used interchangeably for general use.
Taken from ushistory.org
Half-assed is used to describe the Biden Administration.