Gammon (insult)

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Gammon is a pejorative term popularised in British political culture since the 2010s. The term refers to the colour of a white person's flushed face, which purportedly resembles the type of pork of the same name. [1] [2] It is characterised in this context by the Oxford English Dictionary as occurring "in various parasynthetic adjectives referring to particularly reddish or florid complexions". [3] By 2018, the term had become popularised in British political discourse to describe right-wingers and Brexiters. [1] [4]

Contents

Recent history

A half-sliced piece of gammon BBQ Gammon Sliced (4767063533).jpg
A half-sliced piece of gammon

A 2004 sports feature in The Observer described Rupert Lowe as the "gammon-cheeked Southampton chairman". [5]

In 2010, Caitlin Moran wrote that British Prime Minister David Cameron resembled "a slightly camp gammon robot" and "a C3PO made of ham" in her 13 March column in The Times , [6] later collected in her 2012 anthology Moranthology. [7]

In 2015, Ruby Tandoh called Great British Bake Off judge Paul Hollywood a "walking gammon joint". [8]

In 2017, children's author Ben Davis tweeted a picture of nine members of a BBC Question Time audience and referred to them as "the Great Wall of Gammon", [9] leading to the term becoming popularised, particularly on social media. [8] [10] [11] [12] [13]

Earlier historical uses

In 1604, John Marston wrote "Your devilship's ring has no virtue, the buff-captain, the sallow-westphalian gammon-faced zaza cries" in The Malcontent . [14]

In 1622, John Taylor wrote "Where many a warlike Horse & many a Nagge mires:Thou kildst the gammon visag'd poore Westphalians" in his verse poem The Great O Toole. [15]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Want to succeed as a middle-aged modern man? Google Kendrick Lamar". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 12 May 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  2. ↑ "Oliver Twist/Chapter 31". Charles Dickens. 1867. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  3. ↑ "gammon" . Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press.(Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  4. ↑ "Is the EU really plotting to switch Britain to 'Berlin Time'?". Metro. 5 February 2018. Archived from the original on 12 May 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  5. ↑ "Observer Sport Monthly: THE TEN: LAMEST SPORTING EXCUSES". Vol.  Observer Sports Magazine. The Observer. 3 October 2004. p. 6. The gammon-cheeked Southampton chairman blamed the sacking of Paul Sturrock on a 'constant stream of negative and unfair media coverage.
  6. ↑ Brandreth, Gyles. 2013. Oxford Dictionary of Humorous Quotations p.258
  7. ↑ Moran, Caitlin. 2012. Moranthology p.27
  8. 1 2 "Are You A Gammon? Decoding The Political Insult Of The Moment". Esquire . 14 May 2018. Archived from the original on 16 May 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  9. ↑ "Ben Davis on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  10. ↑ Sommerlad, Joe (15 May 2018). "Gammon: Why is the term being used to insult Brexiteers and where does Charles Dickens come into it?". The Independent . Archived from the original on 15 May 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  11. ↑ Davis, Ben (15 May 2018). "I'm the one who coined the term gammon – and now I deeply regret it". The Independent .
  12. ↑ "Why your social media is covered in gammon". BBC. 14 May 2018.
  13. ↑ "This Is Why Everyone Is Losing Their Sh*t About 'Gammon' On The Internet". HuffPo.
  14. ↑ Marston, John (1604). The Malcontent.
  15. ↑ Taylor, John (1622). The great O Toole.

Notes

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