Crossword Help Forum
Forum Rules

not a good idea to stand in bed gwladysstreet.... you might lose your balance and end up on the floor ;0)

Apart from the dictionary definition linked to above.

Wiki

//Over time, the penny dreadfuls evolved into the British comic magazines. Owing to their cheap production, their perceived lack of value, and such hazards as war-time paper drives, the penny dreadfuls, particularly the earliest ones, are fairly rare today.//



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_dreadful

My brother broke his elbow falling out of bed.

I once stood on the end of the bed to dust the ceiling light. It was like being on a trampoline ... I now use a stool

...is that too much information? Boing Boing

......time for bed!

;-)

The clue says "old comic." I did say that in the !9th century the penny-dreadful was not called a comic. It was a "book", or "booklet". Later usage clearly differs; that does not negate my point.
I foresaw that some would find my last post to be " too much information" hence my clearly failed attempt at humour. I thought some of the hipper among you might have recognised it. I misquoted it, by the way. The ODQ, 5th Edition, page 401, has "I should of stood in bed." The attribution is to Joe Jacobs, but this is disputed by some in the US.

I did spot your humour gwladysstreet. I am not hip enough to know the quotation though. Interesting debate.

Jazzgirl, The first time I read it was, I think, in a book by US sports writer AJ Leibling, and it made me laugh. The first time I heard anyone say it was in Ronnie Scott's club years later. It was early evening, there were few people were in the club and Ronnie Scott kicked off proceedings with a fast and furious number. The applause that came did not please him, "Let's all join hands and contact the living," he said, No-one laughed and he looked at the band and said, I'm sure he thought sotto voce, "I should of stood in bed." The band laughed.
Scott was always said to be a great wit, but I always found his humour to be cruel. Jazzgirl, somewhere I read a post about Chris Barber going unrecognised in the Honours List, was that yours?