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Way OT - British country meaning of "only"

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Way OT - British country meaning of "only"

#1

Way OT - British country meaning of "only"

Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA, the rain's here

>Confession: I'm a fan of British procedural mysteries, especially those set out in the less urban parts of the country. In them, I frequently find the word "only" used in a way that's not familiar to me. LOML, who grew up in Philadelphia, says "well, sure" when I read a sentence to her, but I guess the connotation died out in traveling over the Rockies, and I never heard the word used this way when growing up in California.

Example:

"May I leave now, sir? Only I'm meeting a friend for dinner and don't want to be late."

The exact meaning seems to move around some, depending on context. Can one of our British members tell me more? Or do you have to be there to get it?

Re: Way OT - British country meaning of "only"

#2

Re: Way OT - British country meaning of "only"

Kevin F, New Zealand

>It's shorthand for "The only reason I ask is that I'm ..."

Cheers

Kevin (in another of the colonies)

Re: Way OT - British country meaning of "only"

#3

Ah

Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA, the rain's here

>Thanks. It makes sense now. Subtle, the Brits.

Re: Way OT - British country meaning of "only"

#4

Way OT - you still on the map?

Scott Burr in Ben Lomond,CA

>Nice rain lately eh? Hope your staying warn and dry Bill. Happy New wet Year!

Re: Way OT - British country meaning of "only"

#5

Britishisms

Clay C in Miami

>As long as you're up on your Britishisms, you might enjoy the Patrick O'Brian Aubrey/Maturin series of books. The recent movie "Master and Commander' is based on two of these (there are about 20 total). I admit to having NO interest otherwise in British naval history, or sailing ships, or much of anything else that these books are actually about - but they are so beautifully written that I loved them, ate 'em all up with a fork and spoon. Only - I keep walking around after finishing one, 'wishing you the joy of' this or that success, or being 'with child' to spill some news, etc. They are chock-full of wondrous British turns of phrase, and also shows that wooden ships are the source of an astonishing number of English idioms - not just simple ones like 'leeway' and 'log book' (and IIRC, 'chock-full'), but others I'd've never found otherwise, like 'scuttlebutt' and 'the devil to pay.'

These are also great as books on tape/CD (I'm currently up to number 10, 'The Far Side of the World' listening on my Ipod as I drive back and forth between Miami and Sarasota the last couple of weeks) - but if you go that route, be certain to get the ones read by Patrick Tull - all the others are as dreadful as an overcooked lobscouse.

Clay

Re: Way OT - British country meaning of "only"

#6

Re: Way OT - British country meaning of "only"

Paul Kierstead

>Used in Canada too, well eastern Canada anyway. When I read your message, I was wondering "what does he mean, what does it mean? it means .. ah, I see". Not necessarily clear in all cases, here it is somewhat context dependent, but canucks would understand.

Re: Way OT - British country meaning of "only"

#7

Not bad yet

Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA, the rain's here

>The creek on the east side of town is about halfway from normal to flood, though, so we'll see, come February. Still, I can't complain - the worst thing that will happen to me if it does flood is that I'll be unable to go to work for a couple of days.

Bill, thinking a lot about our neighbors in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and other countries hit by the tsunami.

Re: Way OT - British country meaning of "only"

#8

Re: Britishisms

Ernie Miller *Topeka

>Yes I have been listening to them in the shop.

Re: Way OT - British country meaning of "only"

#9

Re: helpful (and amusing) dictionary *LINK*

paul womack

>I don't know which nationals will find this more amusing - USA or UK.

Enjoy.

BugBear


http://www.effingpot.com/

Re: Way OT - British country meaning of "only"

#10

Re: helpful (and amusing) dictionary

Don Thompson - Cutler Ridge, Florida

>Oddly enough, about every tenth item on the UK slang list is common USA usage. I guess the author did not get around enough on this side of the pond.

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