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I think it's regional differences...

(146 Posts)
lizzypopbottle Wed 06-Mar-24 12:31:15

I've been meaning to broach this for a while and another thread prompted me at last...

So, in conversation, somebody said 'pardon' and I came out with, "Pardon Mrs Arden, there's a chicken in your garden!" To which my lovely mum-in-law said, " No Liz, it's 'Pardon Mrs Harden, there's a kitten in your garden!'" I'm originally from the North West and M-i-L North East.

So which do you say?

Also, I hum and hah but others um and ah. Posh people hem and haw.

What do you do when you're hesitating?

There was another one but it's slipped my mind.... it might come back...oh!

Egg and chips or chips and egg? I say chips and egg....

I'm sure there are more.

Greenfinch Wed 06-Mar-24 16:28:22

Scones or scon(e)s
DH says former, I say latter.

Wheniwasyourage Wed 06-Mar-24 16:27:50

I've just googled the song which my mother sang as "Chook chook chook chook chooken". According to Amazon, it is called "Chick chick chick chick chicken" (don't care, that's not what my DM said!) and it was recorded by The Two Gilberts in December 1925. So there we go - every day you learn something new!

AGAA4 Wed 06-Mar-24 16:23:32

Never heard the Mrs Arden rhyme.
I remember a young colleague from Yorkshire asking if I would like a bun. The bun turned out to be a cream slice. Was this just her or do people in Yorkshire call cakes buns? She always referred to cakes as buns.

JamesandJon33 Wed 06-Mar-24 16:21:57

S west Wales

Egg and chips, and a bag of scrumps
Bread and jam
Cheese and biscuits
Never heard of Mrs Arden . Mrs Ire , yes. As in Fire, fire Mrs Ire

grannydarkhair Wed 06-Mar-24 16:20:23

It’s the first I’ve ever heard of Mrs Arden and all her variations.
Any time “chips” is mentioned, it always comes last, e.g. fish and chips, egg and chips.
Also, I’m a “sorry?” rather than a “pardon”.
Red and green should never be seen except on a fairy Queen.

Shinamae Wed 06-Mar-24 16:09:42

MissAdventure

Pardon Mrs. Arden, there's a piggy in my garden. (When someone burps)

I didn't hear this until I was in my 30s, though.

This..😉

BlueBelle Wed 06-Mar-24 16:06:47

Never ever heard of Mrs Ardon and her pardon

Gin Wed 06-Mar-24 14:50:07

Definitely kitten in the South East. My mother used to sing this to me:

Pardon Mrs Arden there’s a kitty in your garden
Going meow, meow, meow.
Such a pretty kitty isn’t it a pity
Going meow, meow, meow.
Her coat is warm and as soft as silk
All she wants is a saucer full of milk
Pardon Mrs A…………….and so on

Kate1949 Wed 06-Mar-24 14:37:45

My mother, who was Irish, used to say:

I beg your pardon Mrs Mardon your black cat's in my back garden.

In Brum we say egg and chips
Crusty rolls are cobs.

GrannySomerset Wed 06-Mar-24 14:37:43

London suburbia here and it was definitely “ I beg your pardon” - could sound less than polite if said in a certain tone of voice. Didn’t know the chicken one but like it very much.

Elegran Wed 06-Mar-24 14:18:59

I beg your pardon, Mrs Arden,
Your cat's had kittens in our back garden.

Sussex or Monmouthshire

biglouis Wed 06-Mar-24 13:58:53

Native Liverpudlian here. Never heard of the chicken one.

We say:-

sausage and mash
egg and chips
Bread and butter

My grandmother taught me never to say pardon but "what?"

Pardon was working class.

Oldnproud Wed 06-Mar-24 13:52:11

Witzend

Never heard the Mrs Arden thing.
Egg and chips here. (Outer London childhood)

One difference I used to notice, a friend from Sheffield used to refer to what I would call fairy cakes, as buns. To me buns would be made from a yeast mix, not a sponge cake mix.

They were definitely 'buns' in my part of Yorkshire too, though I often saw and heard them referred to as ^fairy cakes' elsewhere.
Nowadays, the younger people in our family all call them 'cupcakes'.

Oldnproud Wed 06-Mar-24 13:48:48

I think the version I knew went as follows:
Beg pardon, Mrs Arden, there's a kitten in your garden.
Yes there is and all alone, chewing on a mutton bone.

MissAdventure Wed 06-Mar-24 13:40:24

Blue and green here.

Juliet27 Wed 06-Mar-24 13:39:33

First time I ever heard the ‘Arden, pardon’ thing was when Bob Mortimer mentioned it on ‘Would I Lie to You’.

Blue and green should never be seen whereas a friend from the north says red and green.

Labradora Wed 06-Mar-24 13:37:26

"whenIwasyourage"

Many thanks for the rest of the chicken songsmile

Primrose53 Wed 06-Mar-24 13:34:37

My Irish Mum used to say “Pardon Mrs Arden, there’s a kitten in your garden.”

There was another saying she had something to do with vinegar. Have to think about that.

MissAdventure Wed 06-Mar-24 13:29:34

We had to say pardon, which I've since learned can be seen as rude.

I can't imagine saying anything else though.

Witzend Wed 06-Mar-24 13:26:55

Aveline

We were never allowed to say, 'pardon'. Only, 'I beg your pardon' or if necessary, 'Sorry?'

Me too!

Callistemon21 Wed 06-Mar-24 13:26:45

MissAdventure

Chook?
It's chicken here.

Chooks live in Australia.

My mother used to sing Chick chick chick chick chicken etc

Actually, hens lay eggs .....

Witzend Wed 06-Mar-24 13:26:27

Never heard the Mrs Arden thing.
Egg and chips here. (Outer London childhood)

One difference I used to notice, a friend from Sheffield used to refer to what I would call fairy cakes, as buns. To me buns would be made from a yeast mix, not a sponge cake mix.

Aveline Wed 06-Mar-24 13:24:51

We were never allowed to say, 'pardon'. Only, 'I beg your pardon' or if necessary, 'Sorry?'

Granmarderby10 Wed 06-Mar-24 13:23:54

I ever say pardon, I say “what was that?” …if I didn’t hear 👂
Excuse me …if I sneeze/hiccup (burp 🫢)

MissAdventure Wed 06-Mar-24 13:22:37

Chook?
It's chicken here.