Crossword Help Forum
Forum Rules

malone

I agree. I have worked as a cleaner and would have been annoyed if a client had referred to me as the daily or ****

Grunger, thanks. Some clues make me feel I'm in a Miss Marple story!

jigjag

sorry to hear you are not well

Jigjag, I know how much this will please you ... maybe you need a furlough?

Malone

Thanks, I do need one, in 2 senses. I had never heard of the word until the crisis and I am sure it is being pronounced incorrectly. There must be a pronunciation which will give an 11th variation of -ough. Any ideas?

A "woman who does". There's an old term for a cleaner which I doubt malone and grunger would approve of.

At least the "doing" refers to nothing more than housework but there was a radio programme in the 1940s called ITMA in which a Mrs Mopp's catch phrase was "can I do you now, sir?" It always got a laugh because the audience read something salacious into it.

Jigjag, I'd had enough of the 'ough' stuff, so skimmed over some of that. I remember you were underwhelmed with the recent Government use of 'furlough'. I didn't mind it as Chambers allowed it. I pronounce it 'furlow'. If I'm reading the symbols, in Chambers, correctly, that's OK. I have, though, found it easier to avoid using the word altogether.

jigjag

I have heard it pronounced fur-lug here, so you could put "on furlough" into the sentence to give 11 oughs in 20 words.

Malone orson

Daily, ****, Mrs Mopp, woman who does - what is wrong with cleaner? I suppose they were introduced as "cleaner" was felt to be insulting, but it is the other way round.

Orson, i have always hated the 'woman who does' phrase and deliberately didn't mention it when I wrote about the other two archaisms. It always struck me as a meaningless phrase, and slightly insulting.

Grunger, most of the cleaners I know are perfectly happy to be called cleaners. Some of those in my area are highly sought-after, one of them even had a waiting list!

I asked my cleaner this morning if she would be like to be known as a "woman who does". She gave me a funny look. "I am a woman who doesn't" she said.