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Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2010Waugh: Chap I saw today
Hello: Would you say that "Chap I saw today ..." flows better than "A chap I saw today ..." esp when informality is sought? ----- [Party talk, 1930s] 'Anyway, Franco will soon be skipping back to Morocco. Chap I saw today just come from Barcelona....' Evelyn Waugh, Brideshead Revisited, p. 823 ---- -- Thanks. Marius Hancu On 02 Jan 2010, Marius Hancu wrote > Hello: > [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > Evelyn Waugh, Brideshead Revisited, p. 823 > ---- It's more a matter of it being conversational than flowing -- it's a common technique in joke-telling, for example. ("Man goes to the doctor, says 'Doc...'", etc.)  SignatureCheers, Harvey CanEng and BrEng, indiscriminately mixed > On 02 Jan 2010, Marius Hancu wrote > [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > common technique in joke-telling, for example. ("Man goes to the > doctor, says "Doc... I think I'm turning into a dog" And the doctor says "Just lie down on the couch please" And the man says "I'm sorry, I'm not allowed on the furniture". DC -- On 02 Jan 2010, Django Cat wrote >> On 02 Jan 2010, Marius Hancu wrote >> [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > And the man says > "I'm sorry, I'm not allowed on the furniture". When I replied, I was thinking of "I have a strawberry growing out of my ear"; "I can give you some cream for that". SignatureCheers, Harvey CanEng and BrEng, indiscriminately mixed >>> It's more a matter of it being conversational than flowing -- >>> it's a common technique in joke-telling, for example. ("Man [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > When I replied, I was thinking of "I have a strawberry growing out > of my ear"; "I can give you some cream for that". In my case, I thought I was some curtains. "Pull yourself together, man". Regards Jonathan "Jonathan Morton" <jonathan.mortonbutignorethispart@btinternet.com> writes: >>>> It's more a matter of it being conversational than flowing -- >>>> it's a common technique in joke-telling, for example. ("Man [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > In my case, I thought I was some curtains. "Pull yourself together, man". I phoned him up and told him I swallowed a teaspoon. He told me to not to stir. SignatureOnline waterways route planner | http://canalplan.eu Plan trips, see photos, check facilities | http://canalplan.org.uk > Would you say that > "Chap I saw today ..." [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > Evelyn Waugh, Brideshead Revisited, p. 823 Yes, but this style also has a well-known literary precedent, Mr. Jingle in The Pickwick Papers, who commonly speaks this way, as if in telegraphese. He is a crook (a confidence man, who elopes with an heiress.) SignatureDon Phillipson Carlsbad Springs (Ottawa, Canada) |
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