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I grew up in the states with a close friend whose parents are both from the UK and she's the only person I've known to say "I beg your pardon" with regularity.
by dieselgate 6mo ago
I grew up in the states with a close friend whose parents are both from the UK and she's the only person I've known to say "I beg your pardon" with regularity. Is that a British/UK English thing too? I never hear/read it used otherwise but it seems more succinct and "proper" to me.
Mentioning it because I'm actually slightly surprised to see the "sorry, what did you say" usage here and in the article because it seems so pedestrian
- thrownthatway 6mo agoThe usage of "I beg your pardon" is not uncommon in Australia, but more ironic.
- roarcher 6mo agoI'm American and I've heard Americans say "I beg your pardon", but like you I've always thought of it as a slightly proper (maybe WASP-y) idiom. People frequently say "excuse me", "sorry?", or "say again?". At least I do. Maybe I should get my ears checked.
- tdeck 6mo agoI'm familiar with the expression but if an American said that to me, I'd probably think it meant "rethink what you just said".
- roarcher 6mo agoIt depends a lot on their tone. Most of the time I've heard it, it's a quick "begpardon?", sometimes with their ear cocked towards you. When I see it in writing, I too for some reason picture an angry posh British man who is about to demand satisfaction.
- cromka 6mo agoThey'll also commonly say "pardon me", which is a bit nicer "say again", but definitely nowhere close to "I beg your pardon" uptightness.
- deleted 6mo ago[deleted]
- swarnie 6mo ago"I beg your pardon" like "Sorry" can have multiple meanings based on the situation and inflection. It can be used to excuse not hearing something, to get someone to repeat something preposterous or to generally reply to something shocking without actually expecting the other person to reiterate. I hear it most days in corporate tech.....
- DonHopkins 6mo agoIt's the perfect retort whenever someone expects a rose garden. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-eclUz-RYI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-eclUz-RYI
- enochthered 6mo ago“I beg your pardon” can be translated as “what the fuck did you just say to me?” It’s getting quite serious if you have to whip that one out
- rcarr 6mo agoYou definitely shut up quickly when you said something as a kid and grandma whipped this one out
- mock-possum 6mo agoThe proper response to ‘I beg your pardon’ (and ‘I beg to differ’) is always, “alright then, beg!”