(no subject)

[feanix.livejournal.com]

 What-ho, all, I've got a question about Bertie for you all.

Alrighty, I'm in the midst of constructing a fic and I can't think of something an annoyed Bertie might say. He's in a frustrated spot where he is going to say something like, "why the Hell not?!". So far, I have "why the bally Hell not?!", lol. 

If anyone can give me something uniquely Bertie, I'll be forever grateful and it'll be included in the fic...Well, because I need it to be, lol.

Ta in advance :)

Tinkerty-tonk, then.

Comments

[kill-claudio.livejournal.com]

He could say "Why on earth not?", or "Well why not, dash it?", although I suppose that might be a bit mild for what you want? There was a discussion about the language Bertie uses here (http://community.livejournal.com/indeedsir/380447.html), and there's some really useful stuff in the comments too, if that helps.

[feanix.livejournal.com]

Ah, good show :)

Thanks.

[hazeltea.livejournal.com]

I do see him shaking his head and saying, in that haughty way of his, "Well I don't see why not!"

XD

[feanix.livejournal.com]

A little timid, I'm afraid, for this sitch.

To give a better idea of the tone I'm looking for, here's a wee hint:

Bertie is being denied...Something...By Jeeves, lol. Frustration ensues.

[waqaychay.livejournal.com]

he could very well say "why the bally hell not?" or even "why the bloody hell not?" i do believe i remember reading him saying something very similar in the books. or maybe it was the tv show.

or how about "why the dickens not?" or "why not, blast it?" or "damn it all, why not?" if he's really perturbed.

i could do this all day, i'm afraid. ;) i hope you find something that works.

[feanix.livejournal.com]

They're all good.

"Why the bloody hell not" could well be the winner, so far...It would fit well in the scenario I had in mind.

[lady529.livejournal.com]

I second waqaychay, I was going to say "Why the dickens not?", "Why the bally hell not?" or "Why not, blast it?"

Note to self: will NOT spend rest of day thinking up ways for Bertie Wooster to say 'why not'.

The Lady 529

[random-nexus.livejournal.com]

*pat pat pat*
Be strong.

[lady529.livejournal.com]

*is strong*

*is knitting mittens*

The Lady 529

[adina-atl.livejournal.com]

I don't see why I bally well shouldn't!

[random-nexus.livejournal.com]

OMG!!!! You rule the universe of punch and pie! That link is enormously useful!! I was despairing of having anything useful to add for good old Feanix, here, but wanted to see what folks were saying and BADABOOM! You drop the solid gold awesome on us.

Now, adding in all the other comments, oh my. I see Feanix is good hands!
*winks at Feanix*

[kill-claudio.livejournal.com]

Pie? Mmmm, pie! See, I knew there was a reason I saved that link.

I keep all my links on del.icio.us, and there are a few writing-y type ones (http://delicious.com/kill_claudio/writing%3Bresources) if any of them will be at all helpful. And, of course, all the links to Jeeves/Wooster (http://delicious.com/kill_claudio/pairing%3AJeeves%2FWooster) fic that I occasionally re-read are in there too, although I haven't updated it recently. And I'm afraid some of the links go to the Slash Cotillion (http://cotillion.slashcity.org/), which sadly appears to have expired.

Incidentally, I've just spent about five minutes staring at your icon. It's kind of hypnotising.

[innocentsmith.livejournal.com]

"Hell" seems a little strong for Bertie. Not to say that he'd never curse, nor that I have anything against strong language in general, but I think he says "hell" on maybe one occasion in the whole of canon, and it was sort of jarring.

Bertie has a lot of euphemistic curses - dash for damn, bally for bloody, the blazes for hell, and so on. Raised by his aunts, don't you know, and he takes a rather schoolboyish approach to being a gentleman. Dahlia evidently uses rather strong words on a regular basis, but Bertie doesn't usually tell us what they are.

If it's a very emotional moment he might say "hell," "bloody," or "damn." But (IMHO) it would have to be pretty serious, because it just doesn't seem to be part of his normal repertoire.

[random-nexus.livejournal.com]

Flailing muppets are much too much fun. ;D
Thanks for the further linky goodness!
*in Kermit's voice* "Yaaaaay!"

*sends ice cream for pie*

[the-maenad.livejournal.com]

Preface it with "Dash it all..."?

Dash it all, whyever not, Jeeves?

[heatherlp.livejournal.com]

"Dash it all, Jeeves, why the bally blazes not?"

[tourmaline1973.livejournal.com]

Quite. And discussing Woosterish curse words in an interview at the time the TV series was made, Hugh said that "Heck" is pretty strong, not something you'd say too many times an episode because you don't want people writing in complaining about the bad language :D So yes, "bother", "dash it", and the occasional "bally" would be acceptable, but watch yourself with the H-word :DD

[feanix.livejournal.com]

Liking that one..."Dash it all" is a popular one so far.

[feanix.livejournal.com]

Extremely good hands..Smooth, soft hands, too, lol.

Very useful stuff here, I must say.

[feanix.livejournal.com]

Yes you will. You so will.

[closetofheroes.livejournal.com]

-Hang it all
-Oh, hang
-Blast it, blast it all
-Dash it, dash it all (milder)
-Good lord (very mild)
-Damn!
-the dickens (very mild)

Characters in canon do say 'hell', though I don't recall (off the top of my head) Bertie himself actually using the term, unless he's talking about Hell, as in the place of eternal damnation. I don't recall him using it as an expletive.

I may be wrong, but I'm sure I haven't seen Bertie say 'bloody' anything. Please correct me if I'm wrong, because I'm interested. I have a feeling that was a pretty taboo word in those days. If you've ever seen the old 30s movie, Pygmalion (it's the original 'My Fair Lady' before it was a musical), you'll recall that Eliza Dolittle, at a posh tea-party, says 'not bloody likely', unaware that this is NOT a word to use in polite society. There is much shock in the general reaction. I think this may have been the first movie to use the word 'bloody', actually. I know it seems terribly mild to us now, and sort of funny and cute because it's British, but it was a pretty strong word at that time.

I suppose it all depends on the context you're writing in. The word 'fuck' existed then, but circumstances would have to be pretty gosh-darned extreme before he'd use it, one would think. I'm sure he'd say 'bloody' before saying the f-word.

By the way, I think of 'darn' as an American term. Again, I may be wrong - and Bertie did use a fair bit of American slang.

Historically it's so hard to know, because all we have to look at are books and movies which were of course censored.

Sorry for the waffle - hope this comment is helpful.

[feanix.livejournal.com]

The comment WAS useful and the waffle was great.

I love waffles...Mmm...Waffles.

[pipariperho.livejournal.com]

You are my hero now! That's so useful.

[amethystaura.livejournal.com]

If Jeeves is refusing Bertie what I think Jeeves is refusing Bertie, then I hope that Jeeves no longer refuses Bertie what Jeeves is refusing Bertie. But then, Jeeves may very well not be refusing Bertie what I think Jeeves is refusing Bertie.

Dash it. Even if Jeeves is not refusing Bertie what I think Jeeves is refusing Bertie, I'll read your story.

And I think I'm the fourth to advocate "Why the dickens not?" Adorably Bertie.

Or (unless you've made up your mind, and this has been suggested before): "Why the blazes not?"

[feanix.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Jeeves is refusing Bertie...But only in a fierce, teasy kind of way.