She agreed and said, "We have a mrrrmmn..."
Her son agreed and said, "Yes we have a "mrrrmmn..."
They did not have local accents.
I queried, "You have a...?"
"Yes" they both replied in unison.
I tried again; "I'm sorry what was it you said you had?"
They said, "A mrrrmmn."
I wondered if there was something wrong with my hearing. Trying again, I asked more specifically, "What was that last word, please."
She said, "M a i d e n, we've got a washing maiden."
Naturally, I wondered what the maiden did, and asked.
"Oh no....it's not a person, it's an airer, an airer on which to air the washing"
This was new use of vocabulary to my ears. My curiosity was stoked up; "Where are you from?"
They were from Lancashire, U.K. and there, where they were from, an airer, or a clothes horse, was a 'washing maiden'.
Looking directly at her, and hoping I smiled benignly, I observed "That's rather sexist."
Looking directly back at me and leaning forward in her wheelchair, with fire in her eyes, the woman said, "Yes it is, isn't it."
I reckon from now on, there'll be no more 'washing maidens' in that house. Notwithstanding, It was such an interesting socially based description, certainly one of its time, and probably a description from a specific village or small town within a large Northern county.
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6 comments:
Hahahahaha....this had me laughing out loud.I love the sound of the mrrrmnnnnnn.....and the thought of the woman with fire in her eyes.xxxxx
I thought I had a 'vigorous discussion' on my hands, snowbird. Instead, I have to admit, I was surprised by the emphatic agreement to the gender comment. I'm sure if the lady could have stood up, and on a soapbox, she would have pounded out her agreement.
That was an entertaining and informative anecdote, ZACL. I felt like I was there. A priceless moment!
It's a clothes horse in this part of the county, washing maiden is a 'northern' term.
Such variations can certainly cause confusion can't they. Flighty xx
It 's not everyday you have such an enlightening and amusing moment in a hospital waiting area, Rebb. Thank you for your comment.
Hello Mr F,
I grew up knowing about clothes horses and airers; first the pulley ones that sat up at ceiling height and then the hinged, with broad webbing, wooden ones which stood on the floor, which in turn were more-or-less superceded by the lightweight varieties that sat over baths, concertina types with three or four sections that balanced and stood on 'wispy' legs. There was also the stand-up concertina one that is still around and made of wood and lightweight metals that are plastic coated. As for the poor maidens.....least said soonest mended!
XX
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