In the BBC comedy The Office, first broadcast in 2001, Ricky Gervais plays David Brent, the manager of a paper company’s branch office in Slough. Brent wants to be seen as a funny man and a great boss. The British Comedy Guide notes that he “genuinely believes that he is popular.”
Tub of Lard
In 1993, the Labour politician Roy Hattersley cancelled his appearance on the BBC satirical quiz Have I Got News for You at the last minute, not for the first time. The program replaced him on the panel with a tub of lard.
Savaged by a Dead Sheep
On 14 June 1978, in a debate on the economy, the chancellor Denis Healey answered an attack from Geoffrey Howe. He said: “That part of his speech was rather like being savaged by a dead sheep.”
On 13 November 1990, Howe explained to the House of Commons why he had resigned from Margaret Thatcher’s cabinet. He used a cricket image: “It is rather like sending your opening batsmen to the crease only for them to find, the moment the first balls are bowled, that their bats have been broken before the game by the team captain.”
Thatcher announced her resignation nine days later.
The Vocabulary of Fairness
British English has many phrases that judge an action by whether it is fair.
It’s not cricket: It is unfair or dishonorable.
Fair play: Fair and honest behavior. Also said to give someone credit, as in “Fair play to her.”
Fair’s fair: The same rule must apply to everyone.
A fair crack of the whip: A fair chance.
To jump the queue: To get something before others who have waited longer.
To move the goalposts: To change the rules after a process has started.
Kanu’s Goal
On 13 February 1999, Arsenal played Sheffield United in the fifth round of the FA Cup at Highbury. The ball was put out of play so that an injured Sheffield United player could be treated. Arsenal’s Kanu misunderstood and did not give the ball back. Marc Overmars scored, and Arsenal won 2-1.
Arsenal’s manager, Arsène Wenger, offered a replay. Sheffield United’s manager, Steve Bruce, accepted, and the FA consented. The match was played again ten days later, on 23 February 1999. Arsenal won again, 2-1.
The Spirit of Cricket
In July 2023, in an Ashes Test at Lord’s, the England batter Jonny Bairstow ducked under the last ball of an over. Thinking the ball was dead, he left his crease. The Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey had already underarmed the ball at the stumps, and Bairstow was given out stumped. The crowd jeered the Australians.
In the Long Room, members of the MCC confronted the Australian players. The club suspended three members and later said their conduct “fell well below the behaviour expected from our members.” The Laws of Cricket open with a preamble on the Spirit of Cricket. It states: “The major responsibility for ensuring fair play rests with the captains.”
Not Flash, Just Gordon
In September 2007, the Labour Party launched an advertising campaign for its new leader and prime minister, Gordon Brown. Its slogan was “Not flash, just Gordon.” The campaign was created by the advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi.
Does Exactly What It Says on the Tin
In 1994, the advertising agency HHCL wrote a line for Ronseal wood stain: “Does exactly what it says on the tin.” The line passed into everyday British English as praise for anything that does what it promises, no more and no less.
Just a Chap in a Lab
Frederick Sanger won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry twice, in 1958 and in 1980. He turned down a knighthood. According to the neuroscientist Colin Blakemore, Sanger described himself as “just a chap who messed about in his lab.”