Quote meaning - Please Answer

[life-of-amesu.livejournal.com]

Halloa,

Since we all know Wodehouse to be the inventive and creative man that he was, usually using unique and time appropriate language (i.e. old bean and crumpet, chewing on the carpet, tight as an owl wetc). Ir might be a completely silly question but I was wondering if any good person here would know what the following quote meant: (re: the bold text bits) (It's from How Right You Are, Jeeves)

"You will observe me bowling up in the Wooster sports model tomorrow afternoon with my hair in a braid and a song on my lips."



Thank you my daring and awesome Wooster friends. :)

Comments

[trista-zevkia.livejournal.com]

I thought it was a reference to the Flight of the Valkyries, by Wagner. The Valkyries have braided hair and sing as they go to fetch a fallen warrior. But that's just a guess.

[dogwoodblossom.livejournal.com]

Ooh, that makes sense too. Maybe a little more context would be helpful (since I at least can't place the plot of a Wodehouse story based on the title most of the time). Why and where is Bertie bowling up to tomorrow afternoon?

[trista-zevkia.livejournal.com]

http://www.hatsharpening.com/j%26w/novels.php
lists it as
How Right You Are, Jeeves (aka Jeeves in the Offing)

But it sounds like Bertie is being called away to the countryside to help one of his friends, and this is his joyful, Bertie way of saying he'll be there with bells on. Another wacko English expression, huh?

[dogwoodblossom.livejournal.com]

I don't know of a specific reference or origin for this expression so maybe somebody else can do better, but it just means that Bertie will be in a good mood and raring to go. To me it calls to mind a milk maid or someone skipping through the Alps and about to burst into song a la Julie Andrews in the opening of The Sound of Music. The braid specifically implies an outdoorsy sportiness. A lady's long hair might be done up in a braid if she were going to be doing something active; tennis, or skipping through the Alps with a milk pail.

Those are just my impressions though. I'd like to know if anybody has something more concrete.

[kryptyd.livejournal.com]

That's precisely the image I get from the phrase. I even thought it might be a popular song lyric about a cheerful maiden skipping along, but I suppose if it were a song lyric google would have told us by now. I'm pretty sure this is the meaning though, song lyric or not.

[cherrypep.livejournal.com]

Urban dictionary, surprisingly, has a definition for 'Hair in a braid':

'Enjoying the festivities with the maximum enthusiasm, being the life of the party.'

Of course urban dict isn't exactly merriam-webster, but it seems to fit the context here. I suspect it's American slang but either way it is not a very popular expression on google.

The second bit - the song - I always just took to mean 'with evident cheer'. Might well have missed the point though.

Isn't Wodehouse's terminology great?

[storyfan.livejournal.com]

I think we need a Wodehouse dictionary of all his fun expressions.

[trista-zevkia.livejournal.com]

I've often thought of making one up for myself, but I've not taking the time. Maybe it should be a meme. Suggest a word and somebody writes a drabble fic to explain it?

[wotwotleigh.livejournal.com]

I did a little searching around and it seems to be a common expression of the period (late 19th-early 20th century), but I can't find any hint of an origin. I know what it's supposed to mean ("Wouldn't miss it for anything!"), but I have no idea what the etymology is. Hmm, this is going to drive me nuts now!