Usually if I say "it's like in Star Wars when..." people know what I mean. The reason being that the PT isn't considered "Star Wars" but "Episode whatever", and ESB and ROTJ are known simply by their respective titles. It's only the super-fanboys that have the gall to ask "Do you mean A NEW HOPE??" No asshole, I mean Star Wars, it's one of the most important films in American history.

It reflects the marketing of the films. For almost 30 years "Star Wars" was "Star Wars", and the two sequels were Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. And from the moment the prequels came out they were referred to as "Episode I, II, III", not "Phantom Menace" or "Attack of the Clones". Even when SW was re-released in 1997, all the marketing was "Star Wars" not "A New Hope" or "Episode IV." That only happened really in the post-1999 era, and 1) most people don't respect the prequels enough to re-orient the entire titlings, and 2) it's a lot of work to undo 25 years or so of historical entrenchment.

So for me and for most people, "Star Wars"="Star Wars".