The "Annoying Phrase" Thread

[Tomasso]

say

I'm Sorry


(and not actually mean it)

I've done that through two marriages.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

I'm not an expert on this but I suppose that the upper class (U) can afford to be 'rude' or direct about what they say and what they want. [huh]

In the eyes of their U peers, maybe, but to The One watching above, they probably can't truly afford it, lest they don't care to rise to that station.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

The point is that the non assertive and indirect and overly polite 'pardon' and 'sorry' are frowned upon and even despised (in England)as an indirect threat to the proper order of things as they indicate a failed attempt to 'rise above your station'.[huh]

It's a bit like piling peas on the back of a fork. The absolute dumbest attempt to copy "manners" that i've ever encountered. [huh]

bk

 

[stephen1965]

Wow, I guess I'm trying to 'rise above' my station, then! I was always taught that to say 'What?', instead of saying, 'Pardon me?' was the height of rudeness. This thread is getting a little silly, really. There are clear regional differences in what is considered polite and what is considered rude. It would do us all well to consider this!

I've been trying to rise above my station too by being as rude as I like but with but without any malice

In the eyes of their U peers, maybe, but to The One watching above...

I think I know what you're implying but I don't know what you mean...

It's a bit like piling peas on the back of a fork. The absolute dumbest attempt to copy "manners" that i've ever encountered.

Yep, copying "manners" is foolish. This U and non-U stuff seems to have practical applications.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Well, never let it be said that I was untrue to my working-class roots. From now on, it's gonna be strictly "HAH? WHADJA SAY?" and "OUTTA MY WAY BUB, COMIN THRU!" and "HEY WYNCHA WATCH WHERE YA GOIN, BUM!" for me.

As an aside -- the only thing more pretentious than the middle class aspiring to "upper class manners" is the middle class pretending to be working class in some desperate attempt to appear "culturally authentic."

 

[irb]

Well, never let it be said that I was untrue to my working-class roots. From now on, it's gonna be strictly "HAH? WHADJA SAY?" and "OUTTA MY WAY BUB, COMIN THRU!" and "HEY WYNCHA WATCH WHERE YA GOIN, BUM!" for me.

I'm also fond of, "ONE SIDE, FATHEADS!"

As an aside -- the only thing more pretentious than the middle class aspiring to "upper class manners" is the middle class pretending to be working class in some desperate attempt to appear "culturally authentic."

Ah. You've hit the nail on the head there. There's nothing glamorous or ennobling about being very poor--it just sucks. I wish I could explain that fact to the Kids These Days[tm].

 

[stephen1965]

lol lol yep, say what you mean if that's what you meant to say.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

As an aside -- the only thing more pretentious than the middle class aspiring to "upper class manners" is the middle class pretending to be working class in some desperate attempt to appear "culturally authentic."

Jamie Oliver. 'nuf said

bk

 

[LizzieMaine]

Jamie Oliver. 'nuf said

bk

Exactly. Or, to put it in stateside terms, all the college kids who swagger around with cans of Pabst in their hands.

 

[stephen1965]

Jamie Oliver. 'nuf said

bk

fftopic: Baron I think you live(d) somewhere in East London if I remember some of your posts correctly...I was recently given a 'Keep Hackney Crap' badge but I can't tell if it's authentic or not :eusa_doh: Should I a) Wear it at all times b) Only when doing my organic shopping in Broadway Market c) Keep it at home but for seriously ironic outings?

 

[Paisley]

There's nothing glamorous or ennobling about being very poor--it just sucks. I wish I could explain that fact to the Kids These Days[tm].

"It's no shame to be poor, but it's no great honor, either."

 

[Marc Chevalier]

"It's no shame to be poor, but it's no great honor, either."

Fiddler On The Roof?

.

 

[Viola]

Well, never let it be said that I was untrue to my working-class roots. From now on, it's gonna be strictly "HAH? WHADJA SAY?" and "OUTTA MY WAY BUB, COMIN THRU!" and "HEY WYNCHA WATCH WHERE YA GOIN, BUM!" for me.

As an aside -- the only thing more pretentious than the middle class aspiring to "upper class manners" is the middle class pretending to be working class in some desperate attempt to appear "culturally authentic."

"MAKE A HOLE, MAKE A HOLE!"

It is somewhat satisfying to reply thusly when one is bumped, I imagine: "YO, I'M WALKIN' HERE!" Actually showing my delightful regional authenticity, all complaints are more satisfying prefixed with "yo!"

What about those of us aspiring to the middle class? Did we hock please and thank you for rent money or something?

 

[Paisley]

Good manners don't cost a thing, do they?

 

[Paisley]

Fiddler On The Roof?

.

Yes.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Yes indeed. But east of the Lea Valley, i'm afraid, so not really London i guess. I can think of little more horrific than Hackney. Square glasses trying to de-crap Hackerknee.

fftopic: Baron I think you live(d) somewhere in East London if I remember some of your posts correctly...I was recently given a 'Keep Hackney Crap' badge but I can't tell if it's authentic or not :eusa_doh: Should I a) Wear it at all times b) Only when doing my organic shopping in Broadway Market c) Keep it at home but for seriously ironic outings?

 

[stephen1965]

What about those of us aspiring to the middle class? Did we hock please and thank you for rent money or something?

lol I guess you could say 'sorry', 'please', thankyou' every sentence if you really want to be middle class. The coffee's more expensive though and all that middle class guilt won't allow you to enjoy it. In my experience it get's you a better paid teaching job in the classless society we apparently now enjoy... (in England that is , don't know if it's the same where you are)

 

[irb]

"It's no shame to be poor, but it's no great honor, either."

Entirely correct (I mention for completeness' sake; I certainly didn't intend to imply the former. And excellent reference, by the by).

 

[PrettySquareGal]

So in summary, some people here get perturbed if "sorry" is used incorrectly or one doesn't cry enough when it's uttered from the ground with knees bent, begging for forgiveness. Others get upset if "undeserving" classes of people take on the manners of old money in an alleged attempt to pose a threat to the status quo class systems. What does any of this have to do with vintage living?

 

[stephen1965]

So in summary, some people here get perturbed if "sorry" is used incorrectly or one doesn't cry enough when it's uttered from the ground with knees bent, begging for forgiveness. Others get upset if "undeserving" classes of people take on the manners of old money in an alleged attempt to pose a threat to the status quo class systems. What does any of this have to do with vintage living?

No entirely sure, but if anyone is going to pose a threat to the class system they would have to stop saying 'sorry' for being 'undeserving' and just get on with it.

Perhaps there's a connection in being very 'choosy' about what one wears or how one lives and the things one says.