"I feel a right Charlie"

[BeckyBismuth]

Anyone heard this phrase before? I haven't. I think it's strange, and Charlie-ist. My cousin has a son called Charlie, I have two friends called Charlotte who go by Charli/Charlie too and they were annoyed by it.

Charlie-ist? I assume you’re joking but it’s a fairly lighthearted phrase, like “silly Billy” isn’t William-ist.

Is this supposed to be lighthearted?

My DF used to say it. It was a tv show. My DD is Charlie.

It's very old-fashioned, and the reason it's not heard often is because it's dying out.
I'm 57, never used it myself, as it wasn't much used where I came from, but used to hear it on telly.

It’s a really old turn of phrase.
You are finding something to be offended by here, especially as the phrase has been around significantly longer than your Charlie.

I’m assuming you don’t offer a silent apology to William’s everywhere if you call them a silly billy.

Yes it is light-hearted, but none of us have ever heard it before.

Very old saying but not heard very often nowadays.

A shame that some of these old sayings & phrases are dying out, the new ones aren't as good.☹️

I use of from time to time and have wondered about it's origins , and who is Bob and why is he my uncle?
Who are Tom, Dick and Harry?

On the scale of things to be offended by i should think it ties with "you nana" which i suppose is Banana-ist. Sorry, bananas. 🍌

It’s Tom, Dick and Harry. Pillock

This takes me back. My parents used to say it when I was a child, as did my grandparents. My parents are now pushing 80, and my grandparents would be over 100 now, if they were still alive. I haven't heard this for at least 20 years.

I'd love to know who Charlie was!

I use of from time to time and have wondered about it's origins , and who is Bob and why is he my uncle?

For the same reason Fanny’s your auntie

It's a really well-known but now old-fashioned phrase - I'm in my late 50s and I'm sure everyone my age would know it. A common variation is 'a proper Charlie'. There are a few interesting origin stories online, but no one seems to know the true origin of the phrase.

If it’s light hearted and you haven’t heard it before, why were they annoyed? Just on principle?

I'm wondering if it's a form of Cockney rhyming slang, in which case be careful saying it, in case it actually means something very rude.

Much like 'berk', which many people used to use without realising what it actually meant...

According to t'internet it is cockney rhyming slang for Charlie Hunt. You can guess the rest......

It's been a few years since I've heard it but I always thought it was based on Charlie Chaplin who played a silly fool in his films.

I know a man (prob around 70) as Charlie who’s actual name is Steve but was told ‘he was a right Charlie’ so often it stuck!

There's a lovely (1970s) children's book called Charlie. The heroine is called Rowan, but she gets the nickname Charlie because she dressed up once and people thought she looked "a proper Charlie". Yes, it's old-fashioned. My mum used it.
I try not to use people's names as slurs. I don't like debbie downer etc and don't call people dicks because I have a relative called Dick and I would bet he's hurt by that.

I always thought it was rhyming slang but I could be wrong!

“Charlie Hunt” or the less rude “Charlie Smirke” for berk - although the origin of the insult “berk” also comes from rhyming slang Berkshire hunt, so either way, it’s cunt. But I don’t think “a right Charlie” is ever used as such a strong insult.

I've just looked it up and it does say that it's Cockney rhyming slang from the 1930s (Charlie Hunt). It also says it could come from Charlie Chaplin or Charlie Caroli (a clown).

It's extremely common, though now rather old fashioned. It seems strange you would never have heard it before, on TV or in books, if not in RL.

The phrase is old fashioned but I'm very familiar with it. In my neck of the woods people would usually say "I feel a proper Charlie". It means you've done something daft or embarrasing. It isn't a rude or nasty thing to say.

That's my understanding too.

Quite possibly! Would have been a way of saying it without having to use the word. My grandmothers both swore like troopers, but neither would use the word cunt, it was beyond the pale. Would often talk about being a right Charlie, though, or 'she stood there waiting for ages, like a right Charlie'.