Saturday, 17 November 2018

English Lesson 1

One of the great benefits of driving a lot in the course of my daily work is to be able to listen to the radio in the car.

I tend to switch between a few channels but invariably find myself tuning in to the great archive that is BBC Four Extra.

One of the many re-runs that I find myself laughing out aloud at is "I'm Sorry I haven't a Clue" which is a very long running improvisational comedy show which over its many decades has featured the very best in comedic and entertainment talent.

A regular feature in the show is the offering by the participants of definitions of words towards the Uxbridge English Dictionary.

For any student of the English Language this must be most confusing as although the donor word is a bona fide one the meaning as described is only intended to elicit laughter or gasps of shock and awe.

Here is a bit of a compilation of definitions either broadcast since its launch in 1972 or just held in a remarkable database produced by Kevin Hale, undoubtedly the greatest fan and authority on the subject.

The list is under the first letter of the alphabet but in no particular order;

Arizona- the person that 'ari belongs to.

Alloy- metal friend

Aperitif- Cockney dentures

Anachronism-a political system with no government and a poor sense of timing

Antelope- to run off with your mother's sister

Artery- shooting arrows at paintings

Abattoir- threesome in a monastery

Assassination- an arrangement to meet up with a donkey

Autobiography- car log book

Artefact- pretentious statistic

Adder- Derbyshire expression meaning "I've slept with that woman"

Abscond- to steal someones cream tea

Avoidable- what a cow with a headache tries to do

Abacus- Swedish swear word

Analysis- a rectal examination

Algebra- part of a bikini made from kelp

Atrophy- reward for winning at sport

Aromatic- high tech gadget of Robin Hood

Advisor- the best way to stop the wind getting in your motorbike helmet

Argy-Bargy. The owner of a canal boat in Buenos Aries

Anthropological- a natural time to propel a Telly Tubbu

Apetite- a cheerful drunk

Arsehole- someone, only later on, remembering the Capital of South Korea

Aberdare- a challenge to Benny, Bjorn, Agnetha and the other one

Asbestos- a Greek anti social behaviour order

Acne- a walking stick for dyslexics

Amish- a bit like an arm

Aggregate- a farming scandal

Aerospace- a dedicated place for your chocolate bar

Arson- to sit

Arboretum- a dockside restaurant

Alimony- backstreet currency

Alkaline- a queue outside an A A Meeting

Announce- 28 grams

Arcane- Liverpudlian bamboo

Aspire- the pointy bit of a church

Asymmetry- posh place to bury people

A La Carte- a wheelbarrow from The Arabian Nights

Aerobic- a chocolate pen

Abatement- a cold sufferer describing the lower ground floor of his house

Abort- a sea going vessel described by a resident of Birmingham

Accomplish- drunken sidekick

Acupuncture- a deliberate tyre slashing

Anti-disestablishmentarianism . a strangely named northern, female relative

Albino- Saudi Arabian children's comic

Apex- Gorrilla's wristwatch

Asphalt- something that men of a certain age should refrain from

Arsenic- what happens if you sit naked on a razor blade

AWOL- a dyslexic owl

Animate- a fondness for pets

Agog- a half built Temple


to be continued alphabetically at a later date....................................





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