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> But isn’t “bum a fag” still acceptable Brit phrasing? Well, er, I guess it depends on if you went to Eton or not… Certain very old “public” schools[1] have
by Lio 5y ago
> But isn’t “bum a fag” still acceptable Brit phrasing?
Well, er, I guess it depends on if you went to Eton or not…
Certain very old “public” schools[1] have a tradition of using the younger boys as a sort of personal servant for the older boys. The system is known as “fagging” and the servants/slaves are known as “fags”.
1. Where a public school in the UK is a very posh private school. It’s a public school vs a private tutor don’t ‘cha know.
- bch 5y ago> Well, er, I guess it depends on if you went to Eton or not… This is going in a direction I wasn’t anticipating - I thought “bum a fag” would realistically mean “ask for a cigarette”.
- Lio 5y agoThat would be a good assumption in general to be fair. Those going to that kind of public school would be a tiny percentage of the population. Roald Dahl wrote extensively about "fagging" and all that went with it: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/biographyandmemoirreviews/7932061/Roald-Dahls-schooldays.html https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/biographyandmemoir...