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Original poster

The mirror crack'd from side to side ...

37 replies

PollyannaWhittier · 13/09/2023 21:44

Did other people use this as code for 'I've got my period' when you were at school (or indeed still !), or were my school friends and I as weird as my work friend thinks we were ?!

From The Lady of Shallott - 'the mirror crack'd from side to side / 'the curse is come upon me' cried / The Lady of Shallott'
and 'the curse' being a (slightly granny-ish !) euphemism for a period.

YABU: never heard it
YANBU: I said it too

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steff13 · 13/09/2023 22:51

Marsyas · 13/09/2023 22:50

I always liked Cher’s euphemism in Clueless - “I’m surfing the crimson wave”

And her teacher's response, "I assume you're referring to women's troubles."

72EasyLessons · 13/09/2023 22:51

Not that kind of school, but it comes up fairly regularly in novels, so I assume relatively common in schools rather more literate than mine.

Marsyas · 13/09/2023 22:50

I always liked Cher’s euphemism in Clueless - “I’m surfing the crimson wave”

newnamethanks · 13/09/2023 22:49

About the curse. The bloody curse. Not course autocorrect. BAH.

newnamethanks · 13/09/2023 22:47

Love the Lady of Shallot, did it, seemingly forever, at school. Don't recall any sniggering about the course but we spent a lot of time performing it as dramatically as possible.

SkaneTos · 13/09/2023 22:47

I read the book "Aristocrats" by Stella Tillyard, about the Lennox sisters. It says that they referred to menstruation as "the French lady", or "being the French lady". Does anyone still say that?

(I am not from the UK/English is not my first language).

LizardLizard · 13/09/2023 22:47

No, but it’s really great to see someone from the 19th century embracing the internet.

lookingforMolly · 13/09/2023 22:46

In 90s Dorset it was 'I'm on' or 'I've got time of the month'

Bbq1 · 13/09/2023 22:43

In the NW, often called 'the time of the month'.

DappledOliveGroves · 13/09/2023 22:39

We called it ‘the curse’ - 1990s girls’ boarding school.

ConnieTucker · 13/09/2023 22:38

CecilyStreet · 13/09/2023 21:51

Me too.

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Me too!

Cello60 · 13/09/2023 22:37

That Agatha Christie book is based on a real event. So, so sad.

MyDarlingWhatIfYouFly · 13/09/2023 22:36

My grandmother always calls it the curse, although I never have Smile

RustyBear · 13/09/2023 22:34

I used to change my Mumsnet username to TheLadyOfShalott when my MIL came to stay, as the curse had come upon me. Also so she didn’t find out my usual name, she had a habit of looking over my shoulder when I was on the PC.

Evenstar · 13/09/2023 22:21

A friend of mine who went to an all girls school told me about this and I believe it was mentioned in a Jilly Cooper novel.

Aparecium · 13/09/2023 22:18

It's the first rule of misogyny: Women are responsible for what men do.

Aparecium · 13/09/2023 22:17

KohlaParasaurus · 13/09/2023 22:12

Was The Lady of Shallott about periods and was that why we called them The Curse? I loved that poem for the language and the rhythm, but just took the story at face value.

The curse comes from Genesis. It is Eve's curse for leading Adam astray with the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge:^ I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children^

Testina · 13/09/2023 22:15

Oh teenage girls are so gloriously pretentious!!

Aparecium · 13/09/2023 22:14

At school in the 80s we used to say that we were 'on'.

I first came across 'the mirror cracked' in The Pride of Miss Jean Brodie and did not get the reference at all. Probably because I did not use the expression 'the curse', though I knew of it.

Mumsnet taught me about 'Aunt Flo'.

KohlaParasaurus · 13/09/2023 22:12

Was The Lady of Shallott about periods and was that why we called them The Curse? I loved that poem for the language and the rhythm, but just took the story at face value.

AllProperTeaIsTheft · 13/09/2023 22:11

No, but I love it!

KnickerlessParsons · 13/09/2023 22:10

My DM used to say Aunt Flo will be here next week when talking about her period.

Findyourneutralspace · 13/09/2023 22:10

No but I wish we had. I might start using it now. I reckon I’ve got about a year of periods left to fit it in.

bridgetreilly · 13/09/2023 22:09

We just called it the curse.

Spirallingdownwards · 13/09/2023 22:08

disappearingfish · 13/09/2023 21:59

Spoiler alert ! (Although the book is 61 years' old so we'll let you off...)

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oops yes 🙈

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