Following our conversation about the expression Excuse the pig, the hog’s out walking, and other phrases used an apology or mild reprimand for eructations, Robert in Jacksonville, Florida, emailed to say that when he lived in England, the phrase he most often heard in such situations was More tea, vicar? This and other expressions such as Good evening, vicar and Another cucumber sandwich, vicar? are wry ways to suggest how one might behave if such an event happened in the company of visiting clergy. The catchphrase More tea, vicar? was popularized by British comedian Dick Emery, who recorded a song called “The Vicar of Belching-by-the-Sea.”This is part of a complete episode.
According to Gobsmacked: The British Invasion of American English (Bookshop|Amazon) by Ben Yagoda, the word smarmy, meaning “unctuous” or “ingratiating,” may come from a 19th-century magazine contest, in which readers sent in...
Mary Beth in Greenville, South Carolina, wonders: Why do we say four-oh-nine for the number 409 instead of four-zero-nine or four-aught-nine? What are the rules for saying either zero or oh or aught or ought to indicate that arithmetical symbol...
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