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Original poster

Being sent to Coventry

138 replies

Muddlingalongalone · 09/09/2019 20:04

Currently reading Malory Towers with dd1 (8).
Apparently her teacher doesn't know the phrase "Being sent to Coventry"
He is very young. 1-2 yrs post NQT but even so I was surprised.
Do you know what it means?
What other phrases are "old fashioned" now?

OP posts:
afrikat · 09/09/2019 20:05

I do but only because of Enid Blyton 😁
I'm 38

Singlenotsingle · 09/09/2019 20:06

Of course I know what it means. Surely it's not an unusual phrase. I suppose he's got a lot to learn.

AlexaShutUp · 09/09/2019 20:10

Yes, but I probably learnt it from Malory Towers too. Grin

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choccybuttonshelpeverything · 09/09/2019 20:12

Not a clue 😳 I'm 40

DuesToTheDirt · 09/09/2019 20:13

I'm always saying things that the rest of my family have never heard of - DH likes to claim it's because they haven't been used since the Victorian era. Hmm I say he should read more. Wink

The latest one was "free, gratis and for nothing".

ASqueakingInTheShrubbery · 09/09/2019 20:13

I have to go to Coventry for work sometimes. The comments I get whenever I mention it to anyone suggest that round here at least, it's still a well-known phrase.

Queenoftheashes · 09/09/2019 20:13

I know what it means from Blyton.
My ex and his housemate moved to Coventry and I advised them of the phrase and what it meant. They hadn’t heard of it and wouldn’t believe me. Morons.

Alb1 · 09/09/2019 20:14

Literally never heard this before, what does it mean?

DuesToTheDirt · 09/09/2019 20:14

Oh and as for "sent to Coventry", yes of course I know (53). Will have to ask DH...

DuesToTheDirt · 09/09/2019 20:15

DH says he knows, so it can't be that obscure.

Mitebiteatnite · 09/09/2019 20:15

Ummm I don't know what it means Blush

But then I also found out recently that not a lot of people say 'he's gone to see a man about a dog'. I said it at work last week and everyone said 'ahhh you said you weren't gonna get a puppy, we knew you'd cave eventually'

Wearenotyourkind · 09/09/2019 20:17

Yes I do and I'm 33.

BlueBilledBeatboxingBird · 09/09/2019 20:17

It means ignoring someone completely as a punishment, usually meted out by schoolgirls to their peers in the Blyton boarding school books.

SistersOfMerci · 09/09/2019 20:18

I don't think I've used that phrase since the early 80's! I was a teen but quickly grew out of it.

100PercentThatBitch · 09/09/2019 20:18

We always used to say it to each other as kids in fights because of too much Blyton 😳

northernstars · 09/09/2019 20:21

Enid Blyton for me too - 45.

Sandsnake · 09/09/2019 20:22

35 and yes - but another one who only knows because of Blyton!

emilybrontescorsett · 09/09/2019 20:24

Yes I've heard of it.

Soola · 09/09/2019 20:24

I’m 53 and knew the meaning from a young age so probably from Enid Blyton.

managedmis · 09/09/2019 20:25

I know, but only because I was a Blyton fan.

Not common parlance, really

fairydustandpixies · 09/09/2019 20:25

48 and know because I grew up in the Midlands!

No idea if my DC know what it means, will have to ask them...

managedmis · 09/09/2019 20:26

AWOL is another oldie

0hMy · 09/09/2019 20:26

Yes I do, although admittedly only from reading Malory Towers myself as a child. I loved them!

IHaveBrilloHair · 09/09/2019 20:27

I know from Malory Towers too, but then from same books I thought horses died if they laid downBlush

HelloCanYouHearMe · 09/09/2019 20:29

I live in Coventry, so I know what it means.

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