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Only in America. And only in the 20th century. A mast is a vertical pole or structure. A staff is a handheld pole. We still have radio masts and masts on top of cranes. Flags fly from masts on land all the time. A ship's mast is called a mast because it's a big vertical pole. Somebody in U.S. got confused by this and insisted that flags fly on staffs (staves) on land.
eta: In American English, a flag flown halfway up its flagpole as a symbol of mourning is at half-staff, and a flag flown halfway up a ship’s mast to signal mourning or distress is at half-mast. The distinction does not run deep, though, as the terms are often mixed up, especially in unofficial contexts.
Outside North America, half-staff is not a widely used term, and half-mast is used in reference to half-raised flags both on land and at sea. Half-mast is also preferred in Canada for both uses, though half-staff appears more frequently there than it does outside North America.
Source: https://grammarist.com/usage/half-mast-half-staff/
Emphasis added
As a Canadian, this is the first time I heard the term half-staff, while I've heard half-mast numerous times. So I believe it's much more an American thing and not a North American thing.
Having worked with Americans (US) for many years I think it is more of a doubling down on being wrong and just committing to it out of sheer bloody mindedness. Like the "tabling" something nonsense.
Tabling something everywhere else means to put a topic into discussion immediately. Seppos think it means to discuss later or postpone.
Note: I use seppos affectionately of course.
Wait, there is a history to tabling I don't know about? Do tell.
I wish it were true, but Americanism have been creeping into our English for years. The Senate finally stepped in a few years ago to clarify this issue: https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/the-debate-is-over-senate-of-canada-says-its-half-mast-not-half-staff-when-lowering-flags
But you can still find documents where CBC was confused on the issue: https://www.cbc.ca/news2/indepth/words/flagflap.html
The other one that drives me nuts is the insistence that only physicians can use the honorific of "doctor". It's actually become part of the Globe and Mail's style guide.
Thanks Dr Bob!