Comments on: It’s not like you’ve been captured by Barbary Corsairs

By: Vendor of Quack Nostrums

Vendor of Quack Nostrums — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 20:21:21 +0000

Not sure that NB57 isn’t in danger of falling foul of Measures and Weights here. Dental floss is commonly available in plastic dispensers that contain between 10 to 50 metres of floss. 27 yards is 24.68 metres which, when rounded up, is a standard medium sized 25m dispenser.

Twenty-five metres of dental floss, and she still won’t give me a Euro acceptable smile.

By: Tony H.

Tony H. — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:39:55 +0000

‘Can’t I see his dead eye glow, / Bright as ’twere a Barbary corsair’s?’ (Robert Browning, *Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister*; stanza iv).

By: Dave F.

Dave F. — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 10:26:22 +0000

Hardly minor! Si. Well spotted. Whilst I agree with baling it surprising how many manufacturers list it as Bailing Wire.

By: Si

Si — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 07:04:47 +0000

Minor pedantry, but surely its ‘baling wire’? Wire for making bales, not bails

By: Sera_6969

Sera_6969 — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 11:06:24 +0000

Hmm… Always sung the “Would you like to go the zoo?” line as “Would you like to go visit?” she said “Yeah, but not with you.” which seems more in keeping with the general gist of the song. Zoo, appearing out of nowhere, seems obtuse even for NB.

By: dj

dj — Mon, 25 May 2009 14:05:25 +0000

regards the turpentine consumption, i always heard it as “been”, rather than “still”

By: Paul F

Paul F — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 09:27:39 +0000

I’d agree with removing the “to” completely – I always used to “go the match” or “go the Halfway” or “go the State” when I was growing up in Liverpool.

By: moo

moo — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 13:10:12 +0000

I reckon you’re spot on there, Exxo.

For further evidence of Nige’s aversion to prepositions, there’s:

‘Let’s go the Met Bar and cause an altercation/Let’s go the Groucho and snap at rakish heels’.

By: Charles Exford

Charles Exford — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 12:49:25 +0000

Having hastily posted the above reaction, I do now agree there is an alternative variant which yes, you hear commonly on Merseyside – something like “Goat the match,” “Goat the zoo,” etc. I wouldn’t call it a glottal stop (as Lord forbid that does seem to condemn us to some kind of linguistic grouping wi’t'Yorkies), and I can’t hear NB using it in any songs – the very clear “Go the Isle of Man” precedent springs to mind.

Exxo

By: Charles Exford

Charles Exford — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 12:42:30 +0000

I wouldn’t call it a glottal stop! It’s not Yorkshire you know.

cf “What say we go the Isle of Man, Man, Man ?”