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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,981 |
>I understand that in many social organizations, such as the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers, Masonic Lodges, etc., there is a regular order of toasts at a formal dinner. The first is always the "Loyal Toast", to the Queen; and there is a strict rule which goes that "smoking is not permitted until the Queen is drunk."
Yes, for many formal dinners, you can't smoke until after "the Queen", nor can you get up to go the loo.
A friend attended a formal combined forces dinner and discovered that on occasions "where ladies were not present" (tricky as some of the officers were ladies) a wellington boot was passed under the table for the convenience of the gentlemen - yuk!
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204 |
Too much bromide maybe?Probably not enough, Jo 
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
"until the Queen is drunk."
Dear jmh How much booze does it take to get the Queen drunk?
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400 |
an other irish toast is:
May you be in heaven half hour before the devil knows you are dead!
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Posts: 2,605
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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A toast to the ladies:
Here's to the maiden of bashful fifteen;
Here's to the widow of fifty;
Here's to the flaunting, extravagant quean,
And here's to the housewife that's thrifty.
Let the toast pass,
Drink to the lass,
I'll warrant she'll prove an excuse for the glass.
Here's to the charmer whose dimples we prize,
Now to the maid who has none, sir;
Here's to the girl with a pair of blue eyes,
And here's to the nymph with but one, sir.
Let the toast pass,
Drink to the lass,
I'll warrant she'll prove an excuse for the glass.
Here's to the maid with a bosom of snow;
Now to her that's as brown as a berry;
Here's to the wife with a face full of woe,
And now to the damsel that's merry.
Let the toast pass,
Drink to the lass,
I'll warrant she'll prove an excuse for the glass.
For let 'em be clumsy, or let 'em be slim,
Young or ancient, I care not a feather;
So fill the pint bumper quite up to the brim,
So fill up your glasses, nay, fill to the brim,
And let us e'en toast them together.
Let the toast pass,
Drink to the lass,
I'll warrant she'll prove an excuse for the glass.
Richard Sheridan (1751-1816) -- The School for Scandal.
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,981
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,981 |
>Dear jmh How much booze does it take to get the Queen drunk?
Yes, I spotted the pun.
A little less than her sister (sadly past her wildest days now) and a lot less than her dear old ma (who still wears stilleto heels after two hip replacements and drinks slugs of gin at 101 - I should be so lucky!) I suspect that the Queen drinks very little, she's far too dull.
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Posts: 1,981
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,981 |
Talking of ladies, one of the best parts of any modern Burns night celebration is the "reply to the toast to the lassies". http://www.haggishunt.com/ceremony.cfm
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
Dear jmh: Your URL sounds as though some very distant sassenach cousin of mine has haggis for a first name. I wonder how that could come to pass. If I may be Caledonian enough to save space and energy, I just encountered in New Scientist a UK slang expression I cannot understand. In an article promoting genetically modified cats that would not provoke allergic reactions in the owner, there is a picture of a girl and cat cheek-to-cheek, and caption "ONE-OFF: all the genetically engineered cats will be spayed or neutered before they are sold."
Please tell me, what does the "ONE-OFF" mean?
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,981
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,981 |
One off You describe something as a "one off" if it is original, it may be a prototype of a new car, when only one has been made. A person is a "bit of a one off" if they are different or an original thinker, apart from the crowd. The cat is a "one off" in that if it genetically engineered and neutered then there is only "one of a kind". There may be a pun implied in what is "off" , ie what has been removed in the neutering process, I'm not sure without seeing the full thing. Here is the word used in context: http://www.btinternet.com/~oneoffjewellery/
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
Thanks jmh. There was just that caption to the picture which I gave in full. I tried to see if New Scientist has story on line, but they have changed things, and I could not longer remember my password. They can be a pain. I find a lot of good reading in the magazine though. I think I get the drift well enough, and I thank you for your kind courtesy. Bill
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