Brit euphemism...

[Bruce Dykes]

-----Original Message-----
From: Aaron E. Drews <aaron at LING.ED.AC.UK>
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Date: Tuesday, December 07, 1999 7:44 AM
Subject: Re: Brit euphemism...


>On Tue, 7 Dec 1999, Bethany K. Dumas wrote:
>
>}On Tue, 7 Dec 1999, Bruce Dykes wrote:
>}>I heard one new to me from our London office:
>}>"He's gone to spend a penny."
>}
>}It's not new, it's very old. Under the old currency, it took a large
>
>My mother was tickled when she heard my father-in-law use the phrase.  I
>wounder if the phrase is used by younger speakers.  How old was the London
>person?


The speaker was 28 years old...

Bruce