British sense of humour

[Punkawallah]

Probably not just a British thing, but did you not find the sense of humour in the police could be a bit black and sick at times? I know in the prison service it was. Just a coping method I think. Some of tne stuff we came out with would get an instant and lifetime ban in here!

Happens in a lot of jobs where you see the ‘rough end’ of life. Where I was/am the witticism is usually followed by an ‘oooooh’ and a ‘too soon?’

 

[mudsticks]

Exacterly! What's the applicable Latin phrase? 'ipso facto ergo sum' or whatever. Probably got that wrong. Maybe just 'ipso facto'? Or something else entirely. Ho hum.

But whatever. The fact that someone might play on the notion that they don't do irony is, in itself, ironic. The very definition of it you might say.

I went to grammar school

But not Latin school , so I'll take your word for it on all the ipso stuff

My Sanskrit isn't much better than it should be either to be honest..

Happens in a lot of jobs where you see the ‘rough end’ of life. Where I was/am the witticism is usually followed by an ‘oooooh’ and a ‘too soon?’

I think pretty much, anything involving rather a lot of birth, decay and even death, has ways of keeping things in perspective.

Farming can be like that too.

 

[Punkawallah]

Englishman, Frenchman & German sitting in the dining car of a train. Wine fuelled discussion turns to language.
The German thinks that his language is the best, because German is the language of logic & science.
The Frenchman thinks his language is best, because French Is the language of diplomacy & love.
The Englishman accepts the claims, then shows a dinner knife and says:
”In German, this would be a ‘messer’ and in French, this would be ‘couteau’; but in English, we call this a ‘knife’ - because that’s what it -really- is.”

 

[Reynard]

Englishman, Frenchman & German sitting in the dining car of a train. Wine fuelled discussion turns to language.
The German thinks that his language is the best, because German is the language of logic & science.
The Frenchman thinks his language is best, because French Is the language of diplomacy & love.
The Englishman accepts the claims, then shows a dinner knife and says:
”In German, this would be a ‘messer’ and in French, this would be ‘couteau’; but in English, we call this a ‘knife’ - because that’s what it -really- is.”

Sort of an aside to this...

The literal translation of messerschmidt is knife smith i.e. cutler

A Cutler 109 doesn't sound nearly as fearsome as a Messerschmidt 109...

 

[Andy in Germany]

Does the British sense of humour involve banging on incessantly about the war then? That seems to be the theme.

I think banging on about the war is part of our culture unfortunately, and it spills over into humour as well as other areas.

 

[stephec]

Sort of an aside to this...

The literal translation of messerschmidt is knife smith i.e. cutler

A Cutler 109 doesn't sound nearly as fearsome as a Messerschmidt 109...

But still not as fearsome as a merlin engined British aeroplane.

Sorry, couldn't help but keep the war theme going. 😊

 

[Reynard]

But still not as fearsome as a merlin engined British aeroplane.

Sorry, couldn't help but keep the war theme going. 😊

Actually, it's even more scary when they put those engines into racing cars. Especially when they've no brakes*

That's enough to put the fear of God into anyone.

* for example, John Cobb's late 30s Napier Railton. A totally bonkers car. Brilliant, but bonkers.

 

[Drago]

I think banging on about the war is part of our culture unfortunately, and it spills over into humour as well as other areas.

At least we didn't turn up 2 years late like the Americans did.

 

[stephec]

Actually, it's even more scary when they put those engines into racing cars. Especially when they've no brakes*

That's enough to put the fear of God into anyone.

* for example, John Cobb's late 30s Napier Railton. A totally bonkers car. Brilliant, but bonkers.

No brakes!? 😯

 

[Reynard]

No brakes!? 😯

No brakes. Basically, motor racing's equivalent of a track bike.

Brakes were retrofitted to the car in the 1940s when it was used to test drag chutes for military aircraft.

 

[Beebo]

I think banging on about the war is part of our culture unfortunately, and it spills over into humour as well as other areas.

#no politics allowed, but the last 5 years of nonsense has been based on similar.

 

[Rusty Nails]

At least we didn't turn up 2 years late like the Americans did.

Better late than never as we weren't up to finishing it on our own.

 

[Archie_tect]

Q9, Spike Milligan was truly unique.

So was his audience.

 

[Reynard]

Hmmm, I'm more of a Bill Bailey girl myself...

 

[Drago]

Better late than never as we weren't up to finishing it on our own.

It would have been a draw, likely a long drawn out one. Without air superiority Operation Sealion was put on hold indefinitely, as I recall.

But we turned up on time, properly dressed, with a bottle.