The classification argument rejects a dreadnought-style reading of the Defiant and instead tests the battleship label against concentrated surface lethality. On that definition, the name has a logic, even though the range and power-projection mission suggest a cruiser. Historically, a cruiser could show presence around the world, while sending a battleship conveyed a more forceful demonstration. Clarke's preference for the cruiser description also includes frustration with claims that the word itself polls badly. The distinction is a personal interpretation of mission and naming, without polling evidence supplied to settle the terminology.
Notable Point · 38:53-40:21
A battleship name for a cruiser mission
The naming argument accepts battleship as a description of surface lethality, while associating the published power-projection mission more closely with cruisers.