10. What does this phrase mean? (British comedy)
Description
This article is from the British comedy FAQ, by James Kew j.kew@ic.ac.uk with numerous contributions by others.
10. What does this phrase mean? (British comedy)
Much British comedy is a little parochial; it can be confusing trying to
understand British expressions and slang. The alt.usage.english FAQ
recommends the following dictionaries:
"The Hutchinson British/American Dictionary", Norman Moss (Arrow,
1990, ISBN 0-09-978230-8)
"British English, A to Zed", Norman W. Schur (Facts on File, 1987,
ISBN 0-8160-1635-6)
A British-American dictionary, compiled by Jeremy Smith,
jeremy@csos.orst.edu, is available on-line at:
ftp://ftp.csos.orst.edu/networking/bigfun/usuk_dictionary.txt
The Bottom FAQ includes a dictionary of British slang and public figures
mentioned in the show; an expanded version of the dictionary with many
extra entries can be found at:
http://cathouse.org/BritishComedy/Info/USUKDictionary.html
Here's a few expressions that have come up recently:
Coventry, Sending to
To "send somebody to Coventry" is to ostracise them socially. The
phrase dates back to the English Civil War, during which royalist
prisoners were sent to be held in custody in Coventry, then a
parliamentary strong-hold.
Marmite
A sticky, dark-brown savoury spread made from yeast extract, regarded
with great fondness by many Brits who were reared on it. For more
information see Dave Chapman's Marmite FAQ:
ftp://src.doc.ic.ac.uk/media/tv/collections/tardis/misc/
(Bottom, Smells: mentioned as a condom flavour.)
shag
1. (sl) n. Sexual intercourse. v. Have sex with. 2. Coarse-cut pipe
tobacco. 3. Albatross.
(Blackadder Goes Fourth, Major Star: "I'm told he has a very good line
in rough shag.")
Toad-in-the-Hole
A baked dish of sausages cooked in a batter pudding.
(Are You Being Served?)
Twiglets
Knobbly, twig-shaped savoury flour snacks, with a light coating of a
Marmite-like substance.
(Mr. Bean "makes" Twiglets from twigs and Marmite in one episode.)
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