Piltdown Ponce

[Basil]

I was watching an episode of my favorite show the other night...Fawlty Towers. In one scene, Basil spouts something that I never understood: "I'll get you you Piltdown Ponce." So I did a search on the term "Piltdown" and wonder if he was making a reference to Piltdown man? This scientific hoax went on for 40 years before being exposed. Seems the scientific consensus was in and, "...given the sheer weight of scholarly affirmation regarding the find few if any were willing to publicly speak out for fear of being ridiculed for their trouble." Imagine a hoax of such import leading the scientific community down a rabbit hole for over 40 years and anyone who disagreed being laughed at! Anyway, is Piltdown man likely what Fawlty is referring to with his "Piltdown Ponce" comment? (Ponce, it seams, is British slang for "pimp")

 

[Steve]

You could be right. A ponce is indeed the British version on a pimp, and "Piltdown Man" was a notorious hoax, rather in the tradition of the emperor's new clothes..... "...given the sheer weight of scholarly affirmation regarding the find few if any were willing to publicly speak out for fear of being ridiculed for their trouble." Deja Vu all over again? I shall say no more on that subject. :wink:

 

[3798j]

Deja Vu all over again? :wink:

Just an affirmation of Santayana's Law of Repetitive Consequences.

 

[DrEntropy]

I don't need forty years of this one.

Things move MUCH faster in these days of innernet mecunication. :laugh:

 

[tony barnhill]

Could be happening right now for all we know!

 

[William]

Basil, are you sure it's not "Piltdown Bonce"? That sort of shaggy pudding bowl haircut was sometimes referred to as "Piltdown style" in sixties British press. What haircut does the guy have?

-Wm.

 

[Guest]

I know this is old but I'm bored. Ponce also a British term meaning someone who fakes having intelligence. Given what little info I have oon this, it's probably pimp. Pimp hoax? Fake pimp?

Wm, it's ponce, not bonce. If you google it, you'll find references to the episode.

 

[TRDejaVu]

Ponce also a British term meaning someone who fakes having intelligence.

That's not the definition that I know; it's a derogatory term for a bloke who is light in the loafers.

 

[JamesWilson]

From: The Dictionary of English Slang

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]...ponce Noun. 1. A contemptible person. 2. An effeminate male. Derog. 3. An ostentatious male. Derog. Verb. To beg or freeload. E.g."He's been poncing off shoppers up the high street, saying he's homeless." ponce about...
https://www.peevish.co.uk/slang/p.htm
[/QUOTE]

 

[Basil]

From: The Dictionary of English Slang

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]...ponce Noun. 1. A contemptible person. 2. An effeminate male. Derog. 3. An ostentatious male. Derog. Verb. To beg or freeload. E.g."He's been poncing off shoppers up the high street, saying he's homeless." ponce about...
https://www.peevish.co.uk/slang/p.htm

[/QUOTE]

Not sure which definition was intended when Basil Fawlty called a guest a "Piltdown Ponce," but then he uses other expressions that are obviously not meant as terms of endearment; for example, when he called Polly a "cloth-eared beat" What?

 

[MadRiver]

Wow, this is quite a sentence:

"He's been poncing off shoppers up the high street, saying he's homeless."

 

[Roger]

Not sure which definition was intended when Basil Fawlty called a guest a "Piltdown Ponce," but then he uses other expressions that are obviously not meant as terms of endearment; for example, when he called Polly a "cloth-eared beat" What?

"Cloth-eared" is a common English slang adjective meaning deaf. I'm not sure about "beat" - maybe i tshould have been "bat", that makes more sense.

 

[Guest]

Ponce also a British term meaning someone who fakes having intelligence.

That's not the definition that I know; it's a derogatory term for a bloke who is light in the loafers.

google ponce, it's the first thing that comes up. Upon further reflection, it may not be a British term. When you figure in the possibiblty ofCockney slang, there aint no tellin' wth Basil Fawlty might be saying some of the time.

Ghetto culture here makes up terms on the fly all the time. Maybe ol' boy is just improvin' as he goes.

 

[DrEntropy]

Not sure which definition was intended when Basil Fawlty called a guest a "Piltdown Ponce," but then he uses other expressions that are obviously not meant as terms of endearment; for example, when he called Polly a "cloth-eared beat" What?

"Cloth-eared" is a common English slang adjective meaning deaf. I'm not sure about "beat" - maybe i tshould have been "bat", that makes more sense.

I took him to actually say: "bat" when I heard it.
Gotta be a quick listener wif 'em accents.

 

[Basil]

Not sure which definition was intended when Basil Fawlty called a guest a "Piltdown Ponce," but then he uses other expressions that are obviously not meant as terms of endearment; for example, when he called Polly a "cloth-eared beat" What?

"Cloth-eared" is a common English slang adjective meaning deaf. I'm not sure about "beat" - maybe i tshould have been "bat", that makes more sense.

I took him to actually say: "bat" when I heard it.
Gotta be a quick listener wif 'em accents.

we were both wrong! He calls her a cloth eared bint.

 

[Bruce Bowker]

My very English wife says a ponce is more of a poofter. Definitely not a pimp.

 

[ecurie_ecosse]

My very English wife says a ponce is more of a poofter. Definitely not a pimp.

And I concur. That is how I use the word. :thumbsup:

Stuart.

 

[TRDejaVu]

My very English wife says a ponce is more of a poofter. Definitely not a pimp.

And I concur. That is how I use the word. :thumbsup:

Stuart.

Me and the Missus have the same accent, so I stick with my "light in the loafers" comment.

 

[Roger]

we were both wrong! He calls her a cloth eared bint.

Bint is a word adopted from Arabic, where it means daughter. It's used to describe any young woman, particularly if desirable, though in some parts of the UK it's not very complimentary. It's a bit like a LIverpool Judy, or an Aussy Sheila.

 

[DrEntropy]

we were both wrong! He calls her a cloth eared bint.

Ooof. Missed it completely!