ffolliott

[Jonathan Lighter]

Maybe he said, "fuh-finch...."

JL

On Sun, Feb 7, 2010 at 11:13 PM, Jesse Sheidlower <jester at panix.com> wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jesse Sheidlower <jester at PANIX.COM>
> Subject:      Re: ffolliott
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> On Sun, Feb 07, 2010 at 10:32:49AM -0500, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> > When I was ten or eleven I saw an old movie on TV that contained the
> > following bit of dialogue. It always stuck in my mind, which shows that
> by
> > that age your kid's fate is sealed.
> > I'm posting it because I just saw the movie again for the first time
> since
> > and it confirmed my recollection. Till now I had no idea what movie it
> was
> > because this was the only part I remembered:
> >
> > Johnny Jones: This is Scott ffolliott, newspaperman same as you....Mr.
> > Haverstock, Mr. ffolliott.
> > Scott ffolliott: With a double 'F'.
> > Johnny Jones: How do you do?
> > Scott ffolliott: How do you do?
> > Johnny Jones: I don't get the double 'F'.
> > Scott ffolliott: They're at the beginning. Both small 'F's
> > Johnny Jones: They can't be at the beginning.
> > Scott ffolliott: One of my ancestors was beheaded by Henry VIII. His wife
> > dropped the capital letter to commemorate it. There it is.
> > Johnny Jones: How do you say it, like a stutter?
> > Scott ffolliott: Just a straight 'fuh'.
> >
> > There was, of course, the noted English historian "Charles ffoulkes"
> [sic].
> > His surname derives from the same source as that of Guy Fawkes, so
> perhaps
> > Mr. ffolliott's practice reflects that of Mr. ffoulkes's ffamily.
>
> ...All of which reminds me of my favorite passage in all of
> P.G. Wodehouse (and that is a very high peak indeed):
>
>   "Sir Jasper Finch-Farrowmere?" said Wilfred.
>   "ffinch-ffarrowmere," corrected the visitor, his sensitive ear
> detecting the capitals.
>
> -- P. G. Wodehouse, "A Slice of Life"
>
> Jesse Sheidlower
> OED
>
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