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January 3, 2006
balderdash and piffle
This was an enjoyable programme about the OED. The main idea is for viewers and the programme makers to work together to find new info to update the OED. They focused on words where the earliest citation seems too recent, e.g. the earliest citation they've got for 'pear-shaped' is 1983 and the earliest for 'ploughman's lunch' is 1970. I loved the story about 'ploughman's lunch' (the phrase was invented in the late 50's/early 60's as a way of promoting British cheeses) and the literature and beer mats. And I especially liked the scene where Victoria Coren found the phrase in a letter and some minutes while searching the archive with her big white gloves on. The piece on Polari by Mark Ravenhill was also good.
Billy
Posted by Billy at January 3, 2006 2:44 PM
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