To have told SIL "no...NOT Pardon!"?

[MrsMushroom]

We're abroad with DHs family.

DD aged 4 didn't hear something SIL said.....DD said "What?" and SIL said "WHAT? WHAT??? I think you mean PARDON don't you?"

I HAD to say..."No...in England "what" is fine. Or If you prefer..."sorry, I didn't catch that."

Was I rude? I just don't want DD saying "Pardon" or even worse "P'don"

Oh and Merry Christmas everyone!

Are you very posh?

Sorry - am with SIL on this. It's not what, it's pardon. However your second "sorry I didn't catch that" would also be okay.

Pardon is politer.

I'm with you, op.

Can't abide 'pardon'. It was a banned word when I was growing up & it's banned in our house too.

Most people say 'pardon', I think. 'What' sounds a bit rude to me.

I HATE "What?" Or more often "Wha'" or "Huh?" Drives me nuts.

But then I did not grow up in England. Fortunately my 8 yr old DS says "What did you say?" which, imo, is preferable to WHAA???????????

YANBU

Pardon is dreadful

Who was it who said it was worse than "fuck"? They were right

Awful

Pardon is polite- what is rude.

Though both can sound rude, if you say it in a rude voice.

Wouldn't worry about it.

We live in Australia and my dd says pardon at school and what at home but I don't talk about it with my friends or lecture tell anyone. I have heard her say 'English people say what' to her friends when one of them said she should say pardon.

I don't have strong feelings about it but I said 'what' as a child so it was natural for me to say what to dd and she says it now too.

My dds had major hearing problems growing up ( groments etc ) in other peoples houses it was always pardon but in our house with us it was say again over as myself and xh were ex army even when they were little my dd2 15 still doesnt use the word what i get hang on or say again

My nanny has trained dd 4 to say pardon instead of what.. One day i was walking along with dd and she told me "what is rude" and i kept aking her what is rude? Finally penny dropped. I don,t think pardon is more polite thab what but what does bug me is the pretending she idn,t hear the first time.

Honest question: Why do some posters think that "Pardon" is so horrible? What is it that makes it so bad?

I dislike 'what' I think pardon is much politer.

The snobbish amongst us, not me, nooo think the use of 'pardon' is vair common.

Pardon is a shortened version of "I beg your pardon" which to me always sounds either grovelling, or aggressive.

'What' is very posh, especially if you say it twice quickly. Get her to do that.

Its "common" Alliwant (disclaimer - not my personal opinion, but I am aware it is a widely held view) :) We don't say pardon either, but I am not actually sure why - we live in Germany, I'm English, DH is German, kids speak like a cross between me and cbeebies :o I would correct "Whaaa?!" to "What did you say?" or "can you say that again" personally...

I hate 'what' too. I find it rude.

Pardon or sorry I didnt catch that, or even sorry what did you say at a streach.
But never what. DS is told off if he asks what.

It is a class thing. "Pardon" has always been considered "non-U" by some people. They say "What" instead. Personally I avoid both by saying "sorry?" if I haven't heard what someone has said.

What is very rude I'd say. I always teach mine to say pardon or sorry?

Oh gawd. I am common . Well, I grew up in one of the colonies. Not my fucking fault!

Linguistic class codes from 'Watching the English'...

If he says ?Pardon?? then he is either lower middle or middle middle class and inhabits what is sneeringly called ?Pardonia.? If he says, ?Sorry?? he is upper middle, but if he answers, ?What?? then he is either upper class or working class . . . you can judge which by the accent.

Never heard of pardon upsetting anyone before.

How weird.

Pardon is vair common

I put my kebab on a plate so am clearly well posh innit