Charlie’s dead

A minor wardrobe malfunction on the distaff side of the Bearsery this morning reminded us of this euphemism that was in vogue in the 1960s.   Neither of us can recall hearing it for many years.

Do Charioteers still understand it, I wonder?

And while I’m wombling free, does anybody feels like commenting on the difference, if any, between dispatch and despatch? 😕

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Author: Bearsy

A Queensland Bear with attitude

45 thoughts on “Charlie’s dead”

  1. No ideas about Charlie I’m afraid. Was he/she a cat? As for dispatch/despatch I have dispatch of plaster on my finger as I type. I am from the camp which says if it feels right then it is right and I find that I often AM right. Does either one of these two lean towards the noun rather than the verb? Just a thought. Or does dispatch refer to a single item; yeah I know nuffink so await the views of the scholars. ,.

  2. According to a Google search one answer suggested that it “refers apparently to King Charles II who was a bit of a ladies man. When he died, women out of respect flashed their petticoats.” (Nice one Charles! Can’t see that happening to Charles III) .

  3. I remember “Charlie says” from the gubmint safety adverts.

    “Meowwww Meowwwww Meow Meowwwwwllll.” translated as “don’t take sweets from a stranger.”

  6. We used to say this at school, Bearsy!

    “Charlie’s dead” is no longer a “minor wardrobe malfunction”, it is perfectly acceptable. Indeed ,these days it seems to be the norm to be seen in public wearing little else!

    I don’t think there is any difference between dispatch and despatch; Chambers and the Concise Oxford seem to agree, although if you look up despatch you will be referred to dispatch, so this may indicate that the latter is the more common spelling.

  7. Underskirt showing: I only knew about it from a patient of mine who told me Charlie’s dead when I visited her…

  8. Dispatched /despatched, I don’t think it matters. I had another of those quandaries the other day, but for the moment have forgotten which.

    Then you have emigrate and immigrate and when to use which….

    And how do you pronounce envelope? My Ma used to correct me… some still pronounce it onvelope.

  9. Ah Pseu, Emigrate and immigrate is dead simple….follow the Latin prefix!

    Pronunciation is all about class, or lack of it, innit? 😀

  11. Dispatch/despatch connection/connexion. The latter are chiefly British variants of the former. That is, at least, what the septic dictionary says so it should be taken with a large grain of salt.

  13. Nym, re your comment No 10, and Cuprum’s comment Number 9.

    The pronunciation of envelope is more to do with age than class, I suspect. The word was nicked from the French, and used to be pronounced “onvelope”. I pronounce it onvelope, but so did my parents. I suspect “envelope” is more modern!

  14. Charlie’s dead, used at school, an ‘onvelope’ sayer too.
    Di/espatch. Interchangeable technically but in effect the e is used for military despatches more often and the i to send it to an early grave so to speak.

    Spousal unit says in the US the i is used for all forms and meanings of the word quite correctly.
    Note his English spelling and grammar is a damned sight better than mine! He uses onvelope too, interestingly his parents were German/Swedish/English.

  17. Sipu, yes you’re right. Hadn’t thought of it. I often wonder how many of the American spellings and pronunciations are relevant to the early settlers and the way they spoke. The other day on the news there was an interview with a chap from one of the more remote offshore islands on the Eastern seaboard, only a ferry once a week type place. He had the most bizarre accent, far more rural English sounding than Yank, but curious grammatical structure more typical of the USA. It was a true hybrid, quite fascinating to listen to.

  18. Ochone, ochone. it’s a minefield.

    I’m an ‘onvelope’ kind of guy myself. And I’m with CO on dispatch/despatch.Totally interchangeable except for that one usage in military communications where it always has to be ‘despatches’ for me.

    Moving on, when I was seven years old, I was torn untimely from Caledonia (stern & wild) and transposed to Wiltshire in the South of England (soft and pampered). The one word which threw me utterly was the past tense of the verb ‘eat’. I only knew it pronounced as in ‘8’ but suddenly I was hearing ‘et’ most of the time.

    Was that just a local, Army thing or do a lot of Southrons say it that way?

    Never heard of ‘Charlie’s dead’ before, by the way, That’s probably a Jock thing and a reflection of our continuing allegiance to and respect for the Stewart Dynasty.

  19. The correct pronunciation according to Bearsy is “et”.
    “8” is only used by weirdo furriners. 😦

  21. Here’s what the Oxford Dictionary says –

    eat /i:t/ v.t. & i., ate /et/ , /eɪt/ , eaten /’i:tn/

    No arguing with that! 😆

  26. You may be partially reassured by the fact that the Macquarie Dictionary – the Australian “Bible” – gives “8” as the preferred pronunciation, with “et” as an alternative. 🙂

    But Brit English is adamantly “et”.

  27. I’m back.

    et or at ( the “a” has a squiggly thingy over the top) which I am sure renders the pronunciation “8”!

    So, both are obviously correct! 😐

  31. Minty and Bearsy: I will solve the question of the pronunciation of “8”once and for all. It’s “acht”, the ch is to be pronounced as it is in the Scottish “loch”.

  32. That is not the question, Christopher – as you well know. 😀
    But you may wish to ponder on the pronunciation of “eyot” – that usually separates the men from the boys!

  33. Bearsy: I am simply providing a service for those still living in the EUSSR. From the bottom of my heart, and that’s not that deep, I will on occasion be providing German lessons in order to facilitate everyone’s integration into greater Germany.

  34. Ve have vays of making you larf …

    Funny you should mention that, Christopher. Boadicea and I have been speculating about a UK, not far in the future, where the government finally decides to leave the EUSSR but the country is then occupied by the Met Police under direct instructions from Brussels, and then by the French Army – there being no British Army left to fight them.

    It is our contention that the UK lacks the balls to resist, and furthermore that no other country would come to their aid. I know Australia wouldn’t. 😆

  37. Bearsy: occupied by the French army? Ha ha. Ha ha. Ha ha. Ha ha.
    That’s a good one. I honestly see the EU in its death throes. The closer to collapse
    an organisation is, the nastier it gets.

  38. Nice one, Pseu.
    Except it’s the two Ronnies, not Morecombe and Wise – but who’s counting?

    Does everyone know how to pronounce ghoti (according to George Bernard Shaw)?

  39. I say “et” and “onv”.

    As to the Oxford English Dictionary – has anyone read the Surgeon of Crowthorne? It’s an interesting little story and shows that the first Oxford Dictionary took some seventy years to complete – rather than the two or three originally envisaged.

    A few years ago, I can across the Oxford Dictionary site heralding a “new” dictionary…. it was full of spelling mistakes.

    I e-mailed them and, perhaps a little sharply, pointed out that it was pretty poor that a site advertising “The English Dictionary” had not been checked properly… the page was corrected – I got no reply…

  40. I say “eight” as in “ate” and alternate between “en” and “on” as the strength of my accent waxes and wanes.
    Personally, the German Briefumschlag is an eminently practical description of it.

  41. Sorry about the name change for the comedy act. I was awake at an unnatural time and that’s my excuse.

  43. I wonder if the Surgeon of Crowthorne has been reissued under the title of the “Professor and the Madman”. I’ve noticed that this has happened to a number of older books. It’s very confusing!

  44. Bearsy :

    Does everyone know how to pronounce ghoti (according to George Bernard Shaw)?

    I think that would be ‘fish’, though I can’t think of an example where ‘o’ is pronounced ‘i’. ‘People’ is about the closest I can get.

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