I presented this as a short quote to highlight a slang expression Flashy used on more than one occasion and with more than one meaning. On reflection I should have perhaps used a more complete extract to avoid confusion.
In this case, Flashman has just been reunited with Susie Willinick and “as usual in the evening, she plainly had a pint or two of port insider her”. After celebrating with a little old-fashioned entertainment, he later comments “when we’d done and she’d had a restorative draught of gin” she admitted her strong feelings for him and started to cry, “she was blubbering like the Ouse in spate by now, tears forty percent proof”. After which Flashman describes her as being “tight as Dick’s hatband”.
All of which points to him using the phrase as a colourful way of saying she was drunk. Flashman has also used the phrase to describe sexual orientation here - but not in this particular instance.
2 comments:
Hey - thanks for the site. A collection of things that makes me reread Flashy again and again can only be an asset to the internet :)
But....
"Tight as Dick's Hatband" actually meant 'gay' in the context it is used
http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-dic2.htm
@ skimitar - Glad you’re enjoying Flashman's Retreat.
I presented this as a short quote to highlight a slang expression Flashy used on more than one occasion and with more than one meaning. On reflection I should have perhaps used a more complete extract to avoid confusion.
In this case, Flashman has just been reunited with Susie Willinick and “as usual in the evening, she plainly had a pint or two of port insider her”. After celebrating with a little old-fashioned entertainment, he later comments “when we’d done and she’d had a restorative draught of gin” she admitted her strong feelings for him and started to cry, “she was blubbering like the Ouse in spate by now, tears forty percent proof”. After which Flashman describes her as being “tight as Dick’s hatband”.
All of which points to him using the phrase as a colourful way of saying she was drunk. Flashman has also used the phrase to describe sexual orientation here - but not in this particular instance.
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