I heard on the radio about a British newspaper journalist who is collecting job titles or, to be more precise, this sort of thing.

What others have you seen ?

Of course, you can always generate your own .

Out of curiosity, do our American cousins understand what a Jobsworth is?

Here's an article that describes them pretty well.

quote:

Originally posted by arnie:
Out of curiosity, do our American cousins understand what a Jobsworth is?

Here's an article that describes them pretty well.

I had a vague feeling that there was also a fictional person called Jobsworth, either in a film (movie), a play or a book and I was googling for more details when I came across this. I thought it was a spoof at first but, unbelievably, it isn't .

Those sites were great. I especially loved the job generator site.

No, Arnie, I have never heard of "jobsworth" before. I do like being called an "American cousin" though!

One of my favorite's from that site was a "Chief Officer for Diversity and Equity;" then again I liked the "dendrochronologist" who counts tree rings!

If you don't know what a jobsworth is, then there is a good chance you have never seen the television programme, That's Life.

Or heard of Esther Rantzen or Cyril Fletcher.

The latter would have fitted in well on Wordcraft.

You are correct, Graham, I haven't heard of the TV program or the people.

Do tell why the latter would have fit on Wordcraft!

quote:

Originally posted by Kalleh:
You are correct, Graham, I haven't heard of the TV program or the people.

[quote]Do tell why the latter would have fit on Wordcraft!

Cyril Fletcher (more details and photos here) was an English comedian. Not the flashy standup type, but more of a raconteur. He appeared as a panellist in the many radio game shows about language that we have over here and was particularly well-known for his Odd Odes. I can't find any on the Internet, but I do have a book of them, so I'll post a few here if you want. They're very funny.

He appeared for many years in a TV programme called [URL=http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/That's%20Life!%20(television)]That's Life[/URL] which mixed serious consumer rights information with strange news items sent in by viewers. That link works, but it won't embed because of the %20 signs, so you'll have to copy and paste it into Google in order to read the article).

He had a great facility with language and a good sense of humour which came over well, especially on radio.

quote:

Originally posted by Kalleh: I do like being called an "American cousin" though

When Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, in the theater, the play he was watching was Our American Cousin by Tom Taylor.

I confess I hadn't realised that Cyril Fletcher had died. Always a pleasure to listen to his avuncular tones and clever rhymes.

You can find a selection of Cyril's Odd Odes (and a number of other monologues including those by Stanley Holloway, Joyce Grenfell, Billy Bennett) here http://monologues.co.uk/