What in your view is common ?

For you, Aveline

How To Get On In Society by John Betjeman
Phone for the fish knives, Norman
As cook is a little unnerved;
You kiddies have crumpled the serviettes
And I must have things daintily served.

Are the requisites all in the toilet?
The frills round the cutlets can wait
Till the girl has replenished the cruets
And switched on the logs in the grate.

It's ever so close in the lounge dear,
But the vestibule's comfy for tea
And Howard is riding on horseback
So do come and take some with me

Now here is a fork for your pastries
And do use the couch for your feet;
I know that I wanted to ask you-
Is trifle sufficient for sweet?

Milk and then just as it comes dear?
I'm afraid the preserve's full of stones;
Beg pardon, I'm soiling the doileys
With afternoon tea-cakes and scones.

How To Get On In Society by John Betjeman
Phone for the fish knives, Norman
As cook is a little unnerved;
You kiddies have crumpled the serviettes
And I must have things daintily served.

Are the requisites all in the toilet?
The frills round the cutlets can wait
Till the girl has replenished the cruets
And switched on the logs in the grate.

It's ever so close in the lounge dear,
But the vestibule's comfy for tea
And Howard is riding on horseback
So do come and take some with me

Now here is a fork for your pastries
And do use the couch for your feet;
I know that I wanted to ask you-
Is trifle sufficient for sweet?

Milk and then just as it comes dear?
I'm afraid the preserve's full of stones;
Beg pardon, I'm soiling the doileys
With afternoon tea-cakes and scones.

There you are .

It's a bit dated, and very snobbish, but maybe still funny?

I wish I could copy and paste John Betjeman's 'How to get on in society'. It really skewers lower middle class pretensions.
I agree with a previous poster who found little difference between titled types and working class types but middle classes with chip on their shoulders trying to outdo each other.

nadateturbe I think that it depends upon the pyjamas and the shop!

My late mother who was a narc had a long list of things that were common!
I sometimes think the only adjectives in her vocabulary were “posh & common” both words make me cringe.

A selection from her sad list;

Any washing detergent except Persil
Shoes that weren’t a shade of brown,black or navy.
C&A
PG Tips
Ice pops
Dahlias
Saturday night at the London Palladium
Mainland Spain
Red lipstick & nail polish
Painted toe nails
Caravans
Big breasts
Any forename that didn’t have strong Catholic roots.
All of my friends except Bernadette and Theresa.
Freeman,Hardy &Willis.
Bingo
Holiday camps.

I spent my childhood wishing for all the above.

I too love Common People.

I suppose shopping in pyjamas is common?

Juliet27

Turkey teeth…less rare than hens’ teeth?

Only worn at Christmas.

Turkey teeth…less rare than hens’ teeth?

I know this is on a tangent, but I just recently discovered that 'Common' is an abbreviation of 'Common Good Land'. Where I live, there are all sorts of wonderful events put on for everyone, and at least a proportion is given back to the town for good works. A lot of the time families come and set up cricket or football and have a picnic. The Round Table puts on firework displays and the carnival involves the whole town's clubs and businesses with the money going to charitable works.

Not a word that was ever used when I was growing up, but I think I do understand the concept. My parents would have thought calling something common was common!

Too much make-up, bleached overly blonde hair, certain accents and words, and certain names are ‘common’. Showing off expensive possessions is common.

I agree with Lathyrus that worrying about being common is a (lower) middle class preoccupation. Hyacinth Bucket is an example of someone who has risen above her origins and is constantly concerned about getting things right. The truly lower class and the upper class couldn’t care less.

A lot of these things are more about preferences in taste - is that the same thing? It all sounds very classist to me.

I was about to ask about turkey teeth, trying to visualise inside a turkey's beak, then realised it is people to travel abroad to get their teeth whitened and aligned . I sort of know what you mean, but dentistry is so expensive that not everyone can afford to get it done as they need it, so going abroad is at least a way to get the sort of smile that better off people take for granted.

I assume bright, white, artificial looking teeth, the work on them has been done in Turkey?
My Mum said smoking in the street was ‘common’.

Getting them done in Turkey, it took me a while to fathom it out too

People who go to Turkey to have their teeth fixed.

Chestnut You are spot on. I’d add to that: those head bands that people put on baby girls’ heads (must be uncomfortable).

Just having a vision of a turkey with teeth...

Turkey teeth??? What on earth is/are turkey teeth?

What the flip are turkey teeth and why are they common?

My teacher called me a tart and a gypsy when she saw I'd had my ears pierced aged 14. This was early 1960s

I assume she meant common!

I love that Blur song. I can play it over and over. Reminds me of when my AC were younger at home. I think tattoos look best on young slim legs and I don't like those jeans with huge holes and or rips in them.

I don't really use the word 'common' but I have another word which means the same thing!

Common is:
Excessive swearing (in conversation)
Lots of tattoos or piercings
Turkey teeth
Excessive botox or plastic surgery,
(fat lips, thick eyebrows, massive boobs i.e. Katie Price types)

So basically all the excessive body alterations that people make instead of just enhancing their natural features. All so common!

Ah yes Pollydolly my friends now always say what good condition my books are in when we swap them. I explain how careful I used to be to make sure I didn’t mess up comics!! The habit stayed with me!!

FannyCornforth

One of my favourite songs from the 90’s is ‘Common People’ by Pulp.
Sheer poetry and a total banger to boot !

That’s a favourite of mine as well. One I sing along to in the car
Like lady Hale, I was allowed Girl but not Dandy snd Beano. Lady Hale is a bit of a hero to me
My mum was lovely, kind and compassionate but, she had clear views on what was common. Bleach blondes, parents swearing at/smacking children, babies or small children with ierved ears, begged me not to pierce mine at age 18.
I’m pleased common is out of use but now we have chav and trash insyead

If the Beano is common surely Lord Snooty would refuse to appear in it.

Juliet27

I grew up on Dandy and Beano comics. I used to read them sat under the counter of the newsagents my dad owned and then put them back on the top to be sold. Common or what?!!

Nowt wrong wiv Dandy an Beano Juliet27! We had the Beano as kids and even Mum & Dad used to read it.

Very enterprising of you to read it under your Dads newsagent counter and place it back on the shelf for sale, proper "recycling". and not common at all.