OT: British slang question
William Sakovich
commenters wrote:
"We all knew that new Labour were an absolute shower; yet they kept on being
elected."
Several other people also used shower in this way.
I understand that the author is not a fan of the Labor Party, but I am
curious about the use of shower here. Can anyone explain its origin and/or
nuances?
- BS
Ampontan
Japan from the Inside Out
http://ampontan.wordpress.com/
Mark Spahn
Evan Emswiler
>
> I was reading an online article in a British newspaper today, and one of the
> commenters wrote:
>
> "We all knew that new Labour were an absolute shower; yet they kept on being
> elected."
>
> Several other people also used shower in this way.
>
> I understand that the author is not a fan of the Labor Party, but I am
> curious about the use of shower here. Can anyone explain its origin and/or
> nuances?
I had never heard it either, but Googling "absolute shower" brought a
lot of hits, including this page on Terry-Thomas, a comedian who used
it as his catch phrase.
From here: http://www.answers.com/topic/terry-thomas?cat=entertainment
"Terry-Thomas (July 14, 1911 – January 8, 1990) was a distinctive
English comic actor. He was famous for his portrayal of disreputable
members of the upper classes, especially cads, the trademark gap in
his front teeth, cigarette holder, dressing gown, and such
catch-phrases as "You're an absolute shower!" and "Good show!"
"[SNIP]His performance as Major Hitchcock in John and Roy Boulting's
Private's Progress (1956) gave birth to his catchphrase "you're an
absolute shower", and made him a favourite in British comedy films for
the next decade. He reprised the role of Hitchcock in I'm All Right
Jack (1959), and appeared in several of the Boultings' other films
including Lucky Jim and Brothers in Law."
So to answer the question of how it's pronounced, it would seem to be
based on the verb "to show," making it show-er and not シャワー.
Evan Emswiler
Nick Bennett
"useless or incompetent people".
It is no surprise to hear that Terry Thomas may have been the
originator. He of course starred in the orignal of School For
Scoundrels, a classic study of English one-upmanship.
It is now used mainly in the plural (eg "They are a complete shower")
and is pronounced as in the wet thing that you stand in.
On Jul 13, 2:39 pm, "Evan Emswiler" <emswi...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 7/13/07, William Sakovich <sakov...@gol.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> > I was reading an online article in a British newspaper today, and one of the
> > commenters wrote:
>
> > "We all knew that new Labour were an absolute shower; yet they kept on being
> > elected."
>
> > Several other people also used shower in this way.
>
> > I understand that the author is not a fan of the Labor Party, but I am
> > curious about the use of shower here. Can anyone explain its origin and/or
> > nuances?
>
> I had never heard it either, but Googling "absolute shower" brought a
> lot of hits, including this page on Terry-Thomas, a comedian who used
> it as his catch phrase.
>
> From here:http://www.answers.com/topic/terry-thomas?cat=entertainment
>
> "Terry-Thomas (July 14, 1911 - January 8, 1990) was a distinctive
Doreen Simmons
RAF) and was originally a 'shower of sh-t'. Like a shower of rain but
less pleasant to stand under. When the offensive word was dropped the
expression gained wider currency, and when Terry Thomas took it up it
became part of the language, used by people who had no idea of the
original full form.
DS
On 2007/07/13, at 20:29, William Sakovich wrote:
> I was reading an online article in a British newspaper today, and one
> of the
> commenters wrote:
>
> "We all knew that new Labour were an absolute shower; yet they kept on
> being
> elected."
>
> Several other people also used shower in this way.
>
> I understand that the author is not a fan of the Labor Party, but I am
> curious about the use of shower here. Can anyone explain its origin
> and/or
> nuances?
Doreen Simmons
jz8d...@asahi-net.or.jp
