"Gordon Bennett" is an English-language idiomatic phrase used to express surprise, contempt, outrage, disgust, frustration or exasperation. [1]
The expression is thought to derive either from the controversial reputation of James Gordon Bennett Jr. (1841–1918), son of British-born James Gordon Bennett Sr., founder and publisher of the New York Herald , or as a minced oath, "perhaps a euphemistic substitution for gorblimey". [2] Bennett Jr. was an accomplished polo player, tennis player and yachtsman. [3] There was also an Australian general of the same name from World War II, but any link there is ruled out by an earlier 1937 quotation of the interjection. [4]
The phrase is often said by cockney Del Boy, played by David Jason, in the British sitcom Only Fools And Horses . [5] It was often heard in other cockney sitcoms too, such as Steptoe and Son and Till Death Us Do Part .
It was also used in the 1970s sitcom Please Sir! [6] [7]
"Gordon Bennett" is said frequently by Terry McCann in Minder and Gerry Standing in New Tricks , both played by Dennis Waterman.
It is said by the main character Detective Inspector Humphrey Goodman, in series 3 episode 8 ("Rue Morgue"), and series 5, episode 6 ("Ice-cold murder") of Death in Paradise .
"Gordon Bennett!" is a catchphrase often used by Holly, the ship's computer in the 1988 British science fiction comedy television series Red Dwarf . [8]
Richard Hammond said it in series 5, episode 3 of The Grand Tour : "Sand Job".
The character Ace said it in season 25, episode 5 of Doctor Who .
Mrs Swinburne says it in episode 3 of The Beiderbecke Affair (1985), after she discovers the dead cat her class has put in her desk.
Main character in Pie In The Sky Season 1 Episode 10.
Rhyming slang is a form of slang word construction in the English language. It is especially prevalent among Cockneys in England, and was first used in the early 19th century in the East End of London; hence its alternative name, Cockney rhyming slang. In the US, especially the criminal underworld of the West Coast between 1880 and 1920, rhyming slang has sometimes been known as Australian slang.
Red Dwarf is a British science fiction comedy programme created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, consisting of a sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999, and on Dave since 2009, gaining a cult following. The programme follows low-ranking technician Dave Lister, who awakens after being in suspended animation for three million years to find that he is the last living human, and that he is alone on the mining spacecraft Red Dwarf—except for a hologram of his deceased bunkmate Arnold Rimmer and "Cat", a life form which evolved from Lister's pregnant cat.
A British sitcom or a Britcom is a situational comedy programme produced for British television.
Are You Being Served? is a British television sitcom that was broadcast from 1972 to 1985. It was created and written by David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd. Croft also served as executive producer and director. Michael Knowles and John Chapman also wrote certain episodes. Produced by the BBC, the series starred Mollie Sugden, Trevor Bannister, Frank Thornton, John Inman, Wendy Richard, Arthur Brough, Nicholas Smith, Larry Martyn, Harold Bennett and Arthur English.
Richard David Briers was an English actor whose five-decade career encompassed film, radio, stage and television.
Chris Barrie is a British actor and comedian. He worked as a vocal impressionist on the ITV sketch show Spitting Image (1984–1996) and as Lara Croft's butler Hillary in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003). Barrie starred as Arnold Rimmer in 13 series of the sci-fi space comedy Red Dwarf between 1988 and 2020, and as Gordon Brittas in seven series of the BBC leisure centre sitcom The Brittas Empire (1991–1997).
The Brittas Empire is a British sitcom created and originally written by Andrew Norriss and Richard Fegen. Chris Barrie played titular character Gordon Brittas, the well-intentioned but hugely incompetent manager of the fictional Whitbury New Town Leisure Centre. The show ran for seven series and 52 episodes – including two Christmas specials – from 1991 to 1997 on BBC1. Creators Norriss and Fegen co-wrote the first five series. The series peaked at 10 million viewers.
Jane Elizabeth Leeves is an English actress, best known for her role as Daphne Moon on the NBC sitcom Frasier (1993–2004), for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award. She also played Joy Scroggs on TV Land's sitcom Hot in Cleveland.
British humour carries a strong element of satire aimed at the absurdity of everyday life. Common themes include sarcasm, tongue-in-cheek, banter, insults, self-deprecation, taboo subjects, puns, innuendo, wit, and the British class system. These are often accompanied by a deadpan delivery which is present throughout the British sense of humour. It may be used to bury emotions in a way that seems unkind in the eyes of other cultures. Jokes are told about everything and almost no subject is off-limits, though a lack of subtlety when discussing controversial issues is sometimes considered insensitive. Many British comedy series have become successful internationally, serving as a representation of British culture to overseas audiences.
"The catbird seat" is an idiomatic phrase used to describe an enviable position, often in terms of having the upper hand or greater advantage in any type of dealing among parties. It derives from the secluded perch on which the gray catbird makes mocking calls.
"Future Echoes" is the second episode of the science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf series one, and was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 22 February 1988. It was written by co-creators Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, and directed by Ed Bye.
"Kryten" is the seventh episode from science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf, the first from series two, and was first broadcast on BBC2 on 6 September 1988. Written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, and directed by Ed Bye, this episode introduced the mechanoid character Kryten. The episode was re-mastered, along with the rest of the first three series, in 1998.
"Terrorform" is the third episode of science fiction sit-com Red Dwarf Series V and the twenty seventh in the series run. It was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 5 March 1992. It was written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, and was directed by Juliet May. The episode's plot has the Red Dwarf crew rescuing Rimmer from a terraformed moon based on his own psyche.
"Back to Reality" is the sixth and final episode of the fifth series of science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf, and the 30th in the series' run. It was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 26 March 1992, written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor and directed by Juliet May and Grant Naylor. The plot features the crew waking up after a crash to discover that the last four years of their lives has been spent in a "Total Immersion Video Game" called Red Dwarf. This episode marks the final appearance of Hattie Hayridge as Holly. The episode often tops polls and surveys as the best episode in the entire series.
"Gunmen of the Apocalypse" is the third episode of the sixth series of the science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf. It was first broadcast on 21 October 1993, on BBC Two, and went on to win an International Emmy Award. The episode was written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, and directed by Andy de Emmony. In the episode, the regular cast find themselves in a computer simulation of a Wild West town, facing a gunfight against the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
"Nanarchy" is the eighth, and final, episode of science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf Series VII and the 44th in the series run. It was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 7 March 1997. The episode was written by Paul Alexander, James Hendrie and Doug Naylor, and directed by Ed Bye. After two series of tracking their ship, the crew of Starbug finally discover the location of their missing mining ship Red Dwarf and its computer Holly.
"Bob's your uncle" is an idiom commonly used in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries that means "and there it is", or "and there you have it", or "it's done". Typically, someone says it to conclude a set of simple instructions or when a result is reached. The meaning is similar to that of the French expression "et voilà!".
"Fathers & Suns" is the second episode of science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf series X, originally broadcast on the British television channel Dave on 11 October 2012. Lister celebrates the fact that he is his own father by sending a message to himself for Father's Day. This involves scolding himself for being a useless son, and resigning from the ship's crew to force himself to get his act together. Meanwhile Rimmer and Kryten install a new computer personality called Pree.
"Lemons" is the third episode of science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf series X, originally broadcast on the British television channel Dave on 18 October 2012. In the episode, the crew are marooned on Earth in 23 AD, where they meet a peace-loving do-gooder called Jesus.
"A load of old cobblers" and variants such as "what a load of cobblers" or just "cobblers!" is British slang for "what nonsense" that is derived from the Cockney rhyming slang for "balls" (testicles) of "cobbler's awls". The phrase began to be widely used from the 1960s and is still in use but has become less offensive over time as its origins have been forgotten.