Between 26 May and 4 June 1940, about 338,000 Allied troops were rescued from Dunkirk. About a third of them were French. The Admiralty asked the owners of small boats to help, and hundreds of civilian craft took part. They became known as the “little ships.”
Requires Improvement
From 1 September 2012, Ofsted, the inspectorate for schools in England, stopped using the grade “satisfactory.” It was replaced by “requires improvement.”
The chief inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw, explained: “Satisfactory is not good enough and has been recognised so for a long time.”
The Man on the Clapham Omnibus
English law often judges conduct by the standard of the reasonable person. In 1903, in McQuire v Western Morning News, Collins MR, the Master of the Rolls, referred to “the ordinary reasonable man, ‘the man on the Clapham omnibus,’ as Lord Bowen phrased it.” This is reported to be the phrase’s first use in a judgment.
The phrase has passed into everyday English for the view of an ordinary, sensible person.
Jeeves Disapproves
In P. G. Wodehouse’s stories, friction between the valet Jeeves and his employer, Bertie Wooster, usually begins with a new item Bertie is excited about, such as bright purple socks, a white mess jacket or a garish vase. Jeeves’s disapproval shows as a period of coolness between them.
Bertie calls Jeeves’s opposition “hidebound and reactionary.” Usually Jeeves finds a way to help Bertie with a problem, and Bertie agrees to give away the item Jeeves disapproves of.
Pairing
In the House of Commons, an MP who cannot attend a vote can be paired with an opponent, who agrees not to vote either. The arrangement is not a rule of the House. It is an agreement between members.
In July 2018, Jo Swinson, on maternity leave, was paired with Brandon Lewis. Lewis voted anyway in divisions on the Trade Bill. Reports said the Chief Whip, Julian Smith, had asked five Conservative MPs to break their pairs, and Lewis was the only one who did. Lewis and Smith both apologized. Prime Minister Theresa May called it “an honest mistake made by the whips in fast-moving circumstances.” Swinson rejected that explanation.
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.