From the start of our London adventure I have been very curious about how quickly and profoundly my English will change (and hopefully improve). So far, the only thing worth mentioning is that sometimes I suddenly find myself using words which, before, have not been part of my active vocabulary. Sometimes I'm so surprised at a word that I just used that I become uncertain and look it up in a dictionary, only to find that it was perfectly fine to use it in the given context.
The other thing which I guess every newcomer to London notices sooner or later are the two most essential Londonish adjectives - fancy and dodgy. Everything about London is either fancy (sometimes too fancy) or dodgy (sometimes a little dodgy): places, people, dresses, works of arts - whatever can be preceded by an adjective. Here are some facts Google told me:
- Etymologically, fancy comes from "fantasy", where as the origin of dodgy is actually uncertain
- Before becoming hype words used to describe everything possible, fancy actually meant "decorative" while dodgy described things that were "shifty, unsound or dishonest"
- fancy area vs. dodgy area - 50K : 223K google hits
- fancy London vs. dodgy London - 23K : 12K
- "he is so fancy" vs. "he is a bit dodgy" - 257K : 1M
- ''she is so fancy" vs. "she is a bit dodgy" - 217K : 439K
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| At the Brick Lane Market which has gone all the way from dodgy to fancy |
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| This wall might look dodgy, but it has actually been scraped by a famous street artist |
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| Another dodgy looking wall, but I find that the picture looks rather fancy |
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| It's a pity I did not make any pictures of the people on Brick Lane market, although many of them were dressed extremely fancy |
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| Another setting: during a jazz concert in the Queen Elizabeth Hall, part of the fancy London Jazz Festival |
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| However, the concert hall looks rather dodgy from the outside, although it's situated on fancy Southbank. The men's underwear installation doesn't really help |
Never before have I thought about this, but now since you've mentioned it, yes, actually, you are absolutely right. All people I used to know or do know now, who live in London, use 'dodgy' very often. Not sure about fancy though. I used to hear it more often like a verb.
ReplyDeleteThat's because London is full of dodgyness. :)) Fancy as a verb is another story, but fancy as an adjective is also very dominant in my opinion. Maybe it's because I know work close to fancy Shoreditch. Last week we went for drinks with some clients to a very fancy cocktail bar, this one: http://www.calloohcallaybar.com/welcome/ All the cocktails on the menu were really fancy, the waiters were fancy, the interior of the bar was fancy, and of course all the people who went there. Since we were among them, I guess we must have been fancy as well. I didn't feel really fancy though. But I really liked the fancy cocktails. Luckily I did not have to pay the fancy bill. ;)
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ReplyDeleteGreat posting! You've made my day!
Is the Brick Lane market somehow related to the novel Brick Lane? I remember the area in the book as not fancy at all, but rather dodgy I'd say;)
ReplyDelete:) Did not read the novel, but it is named after that same street, Wikipedia says. As I said, the area has once been very dodgy. But now it's "in". Brick Lane is situated in the heart of Shoreditch which is home to famous street artists, among them Banksy himself. New bars, clubs and restaurants spring up like mushrooms, and the market is a tourist attraction and a showing off stage for all the fancy people. That's a natural thing in London I've been told - a once dodgy area becomes alternative, then cool, then fancy, then superfancy, and finally posh and super-expensive.
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