Mention of 'Big Girl's Blouse' on Downton Abbey

[wiltsman]

I've just heard some one using the phrase 'Big Girl's Blouse' on Downton Abbey.

Surely this is a late 1960s saying; I think I heard Hylda Baker use it on Nearest and Dearest!

It seemed so out of place to hear it on Downton Abbey though.

[elliemay1]

Have taped it to watch later without ads. surprised to hear that phrase used. first time I heard it was on Nearest and dearest.

[Barmaid]

Well they've got one or two things wrong, but who the hell cares I still love it.

[237SJ]

I was going to google after hearing that on Downton. A couple of weeks ago Mathew said "learning curve" which I thought was a modern day expression as well.

[netibiza]

I love the programme but was surprised when he said that, didn't quite fit!

[netibiza]

being more common in downmarket British tabloid newspapers such as the Sun and the Mirror. It seems to have been first recorded in the 1960s:

Eli: Go round talking like that, you’ll be hearing from our solicitor.
Nellie: He is our solicitor, you big girl’s blouse.

Nearest and Dearest, Series 2, Episode 1, 1969. This ITV network sitcom starred Jimmy Jewel as Eli Pledge and Hylda Baker as his spinster sister Nellie, who inherit a pickle-bottling factory in Colne, Lancashire. It was rough-and-ready Northern humour, full of innuendo (plus malapropisms from Nellie). This is the earliest example so far known.

It has been suggested that Hylda Baker invented the phrase in her stage act. If she didn’t, where big girl’s blouse came from is likely to remain a mystery. However, as a possible clue, Brian Edmondson told me that his Liverpudlian father, who died in 1979, always said “he’s flapping like a big girl’s blouse”. This conjures up the twin ideas of a large garment flapping on a washing line and of a man flapping in the sense of panicking. It’s plausible as the image from which the current version could have evolved.

[Jeza]

I called a beefy black guy in Jamaica 'a big girls blouse' when he wouldn't dive in to cold water. He took real offence.

[craft1948]

I thought it sounded odd when Matthew said that he thought his wife had "gone off him"................but I still love Downton.

[dotty.]

not to mention the 'go with that one then' that was said to the kitchen girl, but hey

[DTCwordfan]

yes, it does seem inappropriate. Sack the writers and employ me.

[jackthehat]

And 'batting for the other team' seemed a little incongruous......

[naomi24]

From the off with Downton Abbey, Julian Fellowes' writing skills have left much to be desired. I haven't watched the latest batch.

[wiltsman]

Interesting replies - I was surfing the channels when I heard the phrase.

Had to stop and check which era was being portrayed!

[douglas9401]

Maybe you've misheard the delicacy of the period, a big grilled louse.

[factor-fiction]

I remember in the last series one of the characters (the one who used to be Liam in Corrie) mentioned something and then said "What's all that about?" in a Jason Manford/Peter Kay style.

[jomifl]

If the script was restricted to historically correct language, only historans would understand the dialogue.

[factor-fiction]

I'm not sure, jomifl. Do you remember in series 2 when one of them said "you've been taking logic pills again". I'm sure that could have been phrased in a way that was more understandable using historically accurate language.

[jno]

people weren't still speaking the language of Beowulf by the time of WW1, jomifl!

[jomifl]

F30, I have to confess that after the first series, I would rather rather watch rain falling so haven't seen much of 'coronation abbey'. However spotting inappropriate dialogue on tv dramas would make a good ongoing thread.

[LoftyLottie]

Got so carried away with the feel good factor of last night, that I didn't notice. Just enjoyed watching something entertaining for a change. And the cricket match brought back fond memories of childhood for me.