By George, who were Betsy, Bob and Fanny
Adams?
by
Howard Richler
Have you
ever come across an expression that you have not encountered in decades? This happened to me some months ago while watching
a German movie with English subtitles that featured a concentration camp scene with
some horrific goings-on. To my astonishment the subtitle translated the German
ejaculation of despair with an understated, rather comical “heavens to Betsy.”
For those not familiar with the expression, it is a mild exclamation of
surprise or shock, and thus the translation hardly seemed adequate to describe
the situation.
My interest
aroused, I found the origin of this phrase is shrouded in mystery. It represents
one of the euphemistic non-curses that was prevalent more than fifty years ago and
whose usage has all but vanished. The OED’s
first citation of the phrase is in 1857 from Frederick W. Saunders’ short story
Serenade found in Ballou’s Dollar Monthly Magazine: “‘Heaven’s to Betsy!’,he exclaims, clapping his
hand to his throat, ‘I’ve cut my head off’.” It seems the selection of the name Betsy as the
subject of this minced oath was arbitrary. According to Charles Earle Funk who
in 1955 used the phrase Heavens to Betsy
as the title of his book on interesting phrases, its origin is “completely
unsolvable.”
On the other
hand, we do have a leading candidate for the subject of the expression “Bob’s
your uncle” used to express the ease with which a particular task can be
achieved. The most popular theory relates it to an act of nepotism in the
1880s. British political pundits were
bemused when the young and inexperienced Arthur Balfour (to become Prime
Minister in 1902) was appointed as Chief Secretary for Ireland by his uncle
Robert (Bob) Gascoyne-Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury, then Prime Minister. Hence, the theory suggests that if Bob is
your uncle then anything is possible.
Some
etymologists believe there is no basis for this origin and that it represents
an example of a back-formation, i.e., an explanation that is invented after the
event. An alternate theory points out that in 18th century slang
there was an expression “all is bob” that meant “all is well” and some
etymologists see this as the expression’s origin.
The problem
with both these theories is that the expression is only found in print in the
1920s. This makes the latter origin
theory appear particularly dubious. It also seems somewhat odd that an
expression connected to the nepotism of an uncle to his nephew would only
surface after both men were well out of office.
So it would
appear that there exists reasonable doubt about the true identity of our
aforementioned Betsy and Bob. But what about the George found in the mild
exclamation “By George!” According to Robert Hendrickson in Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins,
this George is none other than Saint George who has been the patron saint of
England since the institution of the Order of the Garter in 1348. Little, however, is known about this canonized
George. It has been speculated that he was a soldier in the Roman army who was
martyred for his Christian faith in Asia Minor.
This theory, however, is specious. Most etymologists believe that George
represents a substitute for God and follows the old Hebraic and English
traditions of avoiding the use of sacred words such as God or Jesus by using a
name with the same initial letter. So in the case of God, George represents one
of the many G substitutes for God, such as golly, gosh or Godfrey.
For those
people who prefer onomastic certainty, I am pleased to relate that at least in
one instance we are positive about the identity of a person referenced in an
expression.
In the
expression “Sweet Fanny Adams” we actually have detailed knowledge about the
subject. While this expression is very popular in Britain and Australia, it is
not widely known in North America and I
am only aware of it because it is one of my British-born partner Carol’s favourite
expressions. Officially, “Sweet Fanny
Adams” means “nothing” and it is often used as a euphemism for the expression
“sweet f*** all.” Fanny Adams was an
eight year old who was murdered in England in August 1867 by Frederick Baker, a
24-year-old solicitor’s clerk. Her mutilated body was found in a field near
Alton. This heinous crime was widely reported and drew much sympathy due to the
victim’s age. A ballad about the murder
described the victim as having a sweet nature and before long British sailors
turned this tragedy into sick comedy as the expression “Sweet Fanny Adams” came
to refer to the inedible meat rations the sailors were served, likening the
meat to the dead girl’s remains. In fact in 1889, a dictionary of slang defines
Fanny Adams as “navy, tinned mutton.” Eventually, the phrase “Sweet Fanny Adams” became
a substitute for the aforementioned expression “sweet F*** all,” often rendered
initially as s.f.a given that both
expressions sport the same initials.
So whether
you’re a known or unknown Bob, George, or Fanny you may be immortalized in an
expression, such is the egalitarian nature of the English language.
Richler’s
book Wordplay:Arranged and Deranged Wit
was published in May 2016. It is
available in fine bookstores and on Amazon.
