When describing
being exceptionally busy : ‘I’m meeting myself coming back!’
the desperate need for a cup of tea ‘I’m spitting feathers’
something being a real rarity ‘It’s as rare as hen’s teeth’
My hate expression litters so many interviews/conversations on t.v. and radio:
‘if you like’ interjected into a statement: e.g. ‘The sun is, if you like, the most dominant source of light in our universe’. I always want to shout out and what is it if I don’t like?
Finally, I saw this in The Guardian Diary column this week:
‘Finally, for all our misgivings, the trend towards outsourcing creeps its way through every area of national life. Today, the church. This from a notice sent to parishioners in the Hertfordshire town of Berkhamsted. “Beloved members of St. Peter’s, if you have an hour to spare one week in six, any day of the week, would you please help by being part of the cleaning rota (or send your domestic along).” It’s the very latest thing: celestial brownie points by proxy. How the other half could save itself.’
Favourite Expressions
Beryl Dowsett