I'm an English Teacher. I sometimes use this video with my students, to make them aware that a lot of words sound the same (homonyms), and because of this you need to be more descriptive. You could see the shopkeeper getting very annoyed, and often my students would find people getting annoyed with them due to communication issues, but not understanding what they were saying wrong. This sketch is a specific type of humour, and I remember the first time I saw it with my Mum when I was young. I didn't find it funny as I was empathising with the shopkeeper and just annoyed with the customer for being so unhelpful. I asked my Mum why the customer doesn't just find the items himself and take the to the till. In fact, I've never been to a shop where the shopkeeper does all the leg work. But when I worked in a shop, I did have a customer come straight up to the till and start telling me what he wanted to buy like I was going to get it. Department stores and online shopping have destroyed little independent businesses like this. Let's all support local businesses. 🙂
Hi fellers, yes, much of the humour relates to pronunciation so as you say the accent does affect the joke. You were right, 'bill hooks' (agricultural pruning knife) was meant to approximate 'bollocks' or testicles. Ronnie Barker's belated alternative 'knockers' refers to a woman's breasts.
I'm an English Teacher. I sometimes use this video with my students, to make them aware that a lot of words sound the same (homonyms), and because of this you need to be more descriptive. You could see the shopkeeper getting very annoyed, and often my students would find people getting annoyed with them due to communication issues, but not understanding what they were saying wrong.
This sketch is a specific type of humour, and I remember the first time I saw it with my Mum when I was young. I didn't find it funny as I was empathising with the shopkeeper and just annoyed with the customer for being so unhelpful. I asked my Mum why the customer doesn't just find the items himself and take the to the till. In fact, I've never been to a shop where the shopkeeper does all the leg work. But when I worked in a shop, I did have a customer come straight up to the till and start telling me what he wanted to buy like I was going to get it.
Department stores and online shopping have destroyed little independent businesses like this. Let's all support local businesses. 🙂
The particular accent drops the Hs, so words like Os, hoes (the garden variety) and hose sound the same; same with fork ‘andles and four candles.
Hi fellers, yes, much of the humour relates to pronunciation so as you say the accent does affect the joke. You were right, 'bill hooks' (agricultural pruning knife) was meant to approximate 'bollocks' or testicles. Ronnie Barker's belated alternative 'knockers' refers to a woman's breasts.
The two Ronnie's were the very best of British comedy alongside Morecambe and Wise..