Just saw the expression 'San fairy Anne ' (sic)

[Claybury]

On another thread. Is this serious or is it a genuine error ?

It's the name of a big cycling club in Kent, reputedly founded by soldiers returning from the First World War.

San Fairy Ann was a favourite of my DM too.
Whether this is an accurate interpretation of its derivation I don't know. But it rings reasonably true:
www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-san1.htm

Didn't British soldiers fighting in France during WW1/2 say it? Like they called Ypres 'Wipers' etc?

Yep, murky buckets works too gorgeous

Sorry for missing the cedilla, Faffette - laziness + ignorance of how to type it as I don't know the keyboard shortcut - can paste one in from LibreOffice though - ç!

Sans rien faire = without doing anything (sans faire rien doesn't exist)

ça ne fait rien = It doesn't matter, don't worry

San fairy Anne what Calculators said

Didn't British soldiers fighting in France during WW1/2 say it? Like they called Ypres 'Wipers' etc?

Yes, Quenelle, that's what I've always understood the origin to be. And Ploegsteert = Plugstreet.

She might pop up in a bit - there's a MNer by that moniker. I've seen it on MN before and saw it in a thread today and assumed the writer knew how she was spelling it.

It is ok Gerund. Sorry for being a pedant. Alt + 128 is the shortcut. :-)

Faffette and Quenelle have it. Grew up hearing lots of these (and being taught the proper French alongside.)

Thanks Faffette - no need to be sorry for a bit of pedantry, it is good to get things right :) and thank you for the shortcut! Ç!

Just wanted to add that there's a lovely children's story written by Eleanor Farjean called San Fairy Anne. it's in a collection called The Little Bookroom, which was one of my favourites growing up.

The main character's father returns from fighting in France, bringing back a doll for her, which he names San Fairy Anne.

These expressions aren't just from war days either. Someone I know who was a junior officer in the forces in, I guess, the 1980s, told me he was once asked by the men under his command (driving a convoy of vehicles through France) for something appropriate to shout in French if they needed to express their feelings about another driver. Obviously he couldn't tell them anything actually insulting so he told them to say "je m'en fiche" (I don't care). Then for the rest of the journey the men regularly shouted "German Fish" at the French drivers who caused them frustration.

I read 'eh wala!' on a trip advisor review once instead of 'voila!'

I'd say it was deliberate. Like 'mercy buckets' as we say.

Yep, "wallah, and there it was!"

Oh, this is interesting, apparently 'skive' may have joined the English language in the same way, it's from the French 'esquiver' meaning to escape, avoid.

I love stuff like this.

I first came across it school when we were studying WW1.
It's not a mistake. I saw it on the thread and it made me smile as I too remembered my GPs. It's a good expression! (Also used to use murky buckets)

calculators link is helpful.
(Great name by the way WhereDoAllTheCalculatorsGo)

I've heard it lots of times (because I watch so many old films, and read so many old books I expect!) From WW1

I have used this term

also "sweet FA" which is a lot coarser

Loving the German fish

Thanks FinnJuhl, I loved that story too and was racking my brains trying to remember where it was as soon as I saw the thread title!

German fish I might use this when DD2 tell me off for saying "I don't care"

There's a lovely story from a long time ago called San Fairy Anne about a lost doll and a beautiful French woman.

this one made me laugh - no historical background just an semi-literate colleague who was particularly obnoxious. She sent an email round saying "I'm very ofay with this sales campaign."

I think it may have been I who used "san fairy ann" on another thread today, although I might have put an "e" on the end of anne by mistake

It's an expression my ex and his family used to use. Even though we'd grown up about five miles away from each other, on opposite sides of the same town, I'd never heard it until I met him. I don't know why it popped into my head at that moment, but it seemed appropriate and it's shorter than going "phfphtphphft you did blah, he did blah, whatcha gonna do?"

I didn't know there was an MNer with that NN - sorry San Fairy Ann, I wasn't taking the mick or anything, I promise!