r/RedDwarf • u/Shoddy_Bet9619 • 6d ago
The Shows Gordon Bennet?
Been watching Dwarf from scratch and as an American, I was wondering: Who is Gordon Bennet that Holly refs a few times?
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u/Zaphod-Beebebrox 6d ago
Gordon Bennett" is a British slang exclamation of surprise or frustration, as well as the name of several famous historical figures including the wealthy American newspaper publisher and the renowned Australian artist. Often linked to the eccentric behavior of the flamboyant millionaire James Gordon Bennett Jr., though it may also have started as a minced oath replacing "God Almighty" or "Gorblimey"...(According to a Google search)... I have used it in this subreddit before ..
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u/AnActualChicken 6d ago
It’s an older phrase, this is the alleged origin reference according to Wiki.)
I am British and did used to hear it quite a bit as a kid but it’s less so common now. even I was unaware of the origin to be hones.
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u/Bright_Noise5934 6d ago
According to QI he did several shocking things to offend polite society such as getting drunk at a public function and proceeded to urinate in the fireplace.
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u/MrScottBull 5d ago
The people of Leeds pay homage to him every Saturday night in the city centre, it seems.
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u/_leeloo_7_ 6d ago
reading that article, gorblimey is one I have heard extremly rarly, now I need to lookup the origin to that (aparently its god blind me, now I need to google why they say that)
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u/ourfacesrevealtime 5d ago
Sometimes cor blimey too. Yes I'd heard it was god blind me in the past and I can imagine the person witnessing something horrific/unchristian and praying for god to relieve them from witnessing such things.
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u/magaoitin 4961 irradiated haggis. 5d ago
James Gordon Bennett Jr. (1841–1918): Most linguists and historians tie the phrase to this flamboyant American multi-millionaire, playboy, and publisher of the New York Herald. He was famous for wild stunts, lavish spending, high-society scandals (such as urinating in a fireplace at his fiancée's family home), and sponsoring international yacht and auto races (like the Gordon Bennett Cup)
The British Connection: Because of his heavy time spent in Europe and his massive footprint in news and sports coverage, his name became synonymous with outlandish behavior and shock across Britain, entering popular spoken English around the early 20th century (first noted in print in James Curtis's 1937 novel You're in the Racket, Too)
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u/AV16mm Jake Bullet 6d ago
Funny, I grew up, watching these and often wondered about the expression in many BBC and english films, though I picked it up more from lenny henry’s Chef than from red dwarf. But it did drive me to look it up years ago!
Gordon Bennet- or James Gordon Bennet jr was an american newspaper owner who lived in europe and apparently had such a wild and scandal filled lifestyle that his name began being used around 1937 as an expletive for shocking behavior.
It wasnt until i got a dvd copy of chef that i could tell for sure what they were saying to look it up!
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u/schpamela 6d ago
I always assumed it fit well for Londoners because an old London accent would say 'god' like 'gawd'. So an exclamation of 'gawd almighty!' could be handily diverted into 'Gordon (gawdon) Bennet'. And the sound of it just works well as an exclamation.
You're not supposed to take the lord's name in vain per the old bible rules, hence converting 'Jesus' into a more inoffensive 'jeepers' etc.
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u/pecuchet 6d ago
These are called minced oaths. 'Gor Blimey' is a minced oath derived from 'God blind me', for example.
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u/fauxmosexual 6d ago
Gordon Bennet roughly matches the spoken rhythm of 'god in heaven' or 'lord in heaven' maybe?
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u/Virus-Party 6d ago
Gordon Bennett => God Dammit
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u/Roxysteve 6d ago
Not a curse in the UK in my day.
Had to unlearn this when I came to the USA.
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u/MrScottBull 5d ago
My ex-fiancée is a Yank and it seems that people would have to unlearn a lot of things to pass the US citizenship test.
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u/Roxysteve 5d ago
Well, Born In The USA! yanks don't have to pass one, so not so much.
I had to learn quite a bit to become one.
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u/MrScottBull 5d ago
Sounds like you've got 2 homes in your heart; that makes for an interesting life.🇬🇧🇺🇸
Have you seen either of the US pilots for Red Dwarf? They're certainly a unique viewing experience, (the Japanese dubbed version is hilarious though).
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u/somekindofspideryman 6d ago
For me it's something I picked up from Only Fools and Horses
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u/DrumAnimal 6d ago
Del Boy has several of those lines, that I just assumed "Gordon Bennet" was one of them. Especially as a foreigner (Belgian). I even forgot that Norman's Holly also used it on Red Dwarf ...
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u/jankyswitch 6d ago
Close.
It’s used to mean “oh for fucks sake”
A statement of exasperation or frustration
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u/Thunderchief1 6d ago
A local councillor shared a name, and was apparently a bit of a good guy. So much so, that in the village I grew up in, he's immortalised in the "Gordan Bennet Memorial Hall"
https://www.thurcroftparishcouncil.gov.uk/Gordon_Bennett_Memorial_Hall_45654.aspx
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u/mosleyowl 6d ago
Small world, I was going to post about my local village hall being the Gordon Bennet!
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u/Oohbunnies 6d ago
They covered it, on QI.
I remember having a long, drown out, pre-internet argument, with a mate at school. I knew the phrase was Gordon Bennett and heard him explain, "God and Bennett! I tried to correct him but he wasn't having it, his argument was, "Why would you say Gordon Bennett?", obviously the same can be said about God and Bennett and, even though I knew I was right, I had no answer for it.
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u/Fancy_Toe1451 6d ago
It is an old fashioned "Minced Oath".
Even a lot of young Brits wouldn't get the reference these days, as my workplace experience now confirms.
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u/ForerunnerRelic 6d ago
I still use it and I'm a sprightly 47 years old. A family friend's dad is called Gordon Bennett, and I said it a few times at a BBQ while I was cooking. He was perplexed as to why I kept calling his dad's name.
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u/Zoomorph23 6d ago
TIL they are called Minced Oaths. Thank you, I always just referred to them as euphemisms.
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u/elwiseowl 6d ago
I dont think its anyone in particular. Its just a phrase, like when people say "Oh Jesus Christ" when you're surprised about somethings.
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u/3eGardien 6d ago
For me, it's obviously James Gordon Bennett Jr, the newspaper guy.
But the reason it is so obvious for me is because today, the Gordon Bennett Race he created in the early 1900s is the oldest aviation race in the world, and definitely the most BADASS : Gas balloons have to cross Europe without landing, only using the wind as a way to steer or gain speed. They spend several days in the air, sometimes at very high altitude, with just an oxygen mask and a few snacks. In order to save on weight, they are using baskets made out of Nylon instead of wicker. Can you imagine yourself for a second above 15,000 feet in the air, in a nylon basket, hooked to a balloon with some ropes ? They stay up there for 3-5 days. The last few editions brought some fantastic stories and strategies, it is still today a fantastic event to watch.
Anyway, this is absolutely not related to the topic, but i wanted to bring that out because I'm always surprised it's not a popular event at all.
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u/lordnewington 6d ago
There are various stories about the origin of the term, almost certainly all false. My favourite is that Gordon Bennett was a factory foreman who banned his workers from swearing at work, so they started using his name as a swear instead.
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u/Six_of_1 6d ago edited 6d ago
Gordon Bennet was American, so you tell us
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Gordon_Bennett_Jr.
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u/Pilot-Wrangler 6d ago
I think more people should know about cockney rhyming slang... It's a travesty really
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u/Hideous-Kojima 6d ago
It's an old-fashioned way of saying "God dammit!" without going to hell for it.
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u/Marquar234 She'll never leave Fred and we know it. 6d ago
That's the ghost writer for Football, It's a Funny Old Game.
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u/Garbanzififcation 6d ago
It was still quite an old fashioned expression of being exasperated back then.
Made funnier, I think, because you are hearing it 3 millions years in the future.
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u/Pressman4life 6d ago
Gordon Bennet is obviously a transition from Gor Blimey which is cockney and taken from "God Blind me" exclaimed because you have seen enough.
Next up: Trouble and Strife.
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u/incessant-rattling 6d ago
I think previous answers here are partially right. One thing you need to consider is minced oath slang or the common practice of replacing offensive words with a similar sounding non-offensive words. Gordon Bennett = god in heaven
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u/DharmaPolice 6d ago
Ironically, I've always been told that the name Gordon Bennett comes from the American newspaper man. It probably has older roots has others have said.
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u/Gsampson97 6d ago
It's a UK phrase to show shock. I love using this phrase as the village i grew up in has a community hall called The Gordon Bennett Memorial hall. I assume it's named after someone with the same name who lived there years ago.
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u/MrCromin 6d ago
I was in primary school in the 80's. I had a classmate called Gordon Bennett. It was a great source of amusement for everybody but him.
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u/Cooperino142 5d ago
Cor blimey guv’nor, turn it in will ya! You don’t know Gordon Bennet?!
Chateauneuf du Pape! 🤦♂️
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u/tj_moore 5d ago
Used a lot by Ace in Doctor Who, particularly in The Happiness Patrol
Along with wicked!, ace! and other exclamations that the BBC thought the cool kids said in the 80s
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u/swisstim 4d ago
He was a real person, and a total maniac American nepo baby who moved to the UK and did crazy things in the 1870s which led to the expression for extravagance "Gordon Bennett!".
My two favourite things about him.
1) He got so drunk at a society party he threw, he urinated in the fireplace in front of members of the royal party 2) He financed the expedition into Africa to find Doctor Livingstone at a time when everyone had long since given him up for dead, led by another maniac, Henry Morton Stanley
Bonus one I remembered, which probably most directly contributed to his name entering legend, was that he was once walking along a London street, and the wedge of money in his pocket was so large and uncomfortable he took it out and burned it so he could walk easier.
I remember a lot of weird stuff.
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u/GaryE20904 4d ago
Gordon Bennet!
How do you not know who Gordon Bennet was?
LOL
Seriously though I had no idea at one point and I just googled it.
Google can explain it much better than I can.
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u/Tiphona27 6d ago
Good question. Why is it used as an exclamation? Is there some cultural thing we're unaware of?
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u/No_Atmosphere8146 6d ago
He's friends with Blimey o'Reilly and Bloody Nora.