Wordplay - Spoonerisms & Acronyms

I've returned after a couple of hours and still no offers guys? Is this a humour-free zone?

I think this is where we're missing the chit-chat of old
I'm sure there would've been some hilarious suggestions...though at least
it seems that Betty Swallox has finally been teabagged to death.

Then again...maybe the racing folk are just dumb and don't get what a Spoonerism is?

The Farmers say that the Authority that oversees all their affairs ...  DEFRA

Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs

Should be ...

'Done Everything F*cking wRong Again'.

if you drive a Ford then it's Fix Or Repair Daily

WORK is the curse of the DRINKING classes - genius from Oscar Wilde

FIAT
Fix it again Tomorrow

There’s a Moroccan football team whose name is always abbreviated WAC. I can’t see that name without thinking about Shafter’s acronyms.

Washington DC will never be the same for me either!

There was a horse with a name that was a spoonerism some years ago. Mary Hinge.

O.B.E.    ……Other bugger's efforts.

NASA - immediately after their shuttle blew up, before it even hit the tv news - Need Another Seven Astronauts.

That's reminded me of another apposite acronym for NASA....never a straight answer.

Can't believe I forgot about Mary Hinge

I remember reading about a few horses that managed to escape the eagle-eye of Weatherby's paranoia
squad (I've forgotten them now) and if memory serves, one that didn't make the cut was Joe Blob

Hopefully someone on here with a better memory than me can help out.

There were loads on them - until naïve Weatherbys turned their radar on.

That scottish dodgy owner Hugh McDonnell(?) - notably had - Finmental and Kinnell.

some of the horse names were,

Weigh Anchor
Finmental (effin mental)
Noble Locks
Hoof Hearted

woftam

Greyhound many years ago...Novak & Good.

For some reason I thought Mary Hinge never saw the light of day...but was trained by Julie Cecil and always ridden by Paul Eddery (won 5 races).  Do you reckon the most people cottoned on to joke straight away?

*that most people

Who originally named (and owned) Mary Hinge?
I have a slight recollection of orange colours as a 2yo but on the RP website,
it looks as though Julie Cecil had the filly from day one - I'm sure she didn't.

Maybe I'm confusing the colours with Howard De Walden who had a few horses with her when she started up

A lot of people like Frankie Howerd did wartime entertainment with ENSA...or as the troops called it, Every Night Something Awful.

De Walden was apricot colours, Slip Anchor.

Thanks SB - I'd have been stumped without that contribution

Gibberish 01 Aug 22 13:31

Who originally named (and owned) Mary Hinge?
I have a slight recollection of orange colours as a 2yo but on the RP website,
it looks as though Julie Cecil had the filly from day one - I'm sure she didn't.
--------------------

I concur - I am fairly sure that horse originally came from, ran, and was therefore Named - in either Belgium or Holland.

That is how it got past Weatherbys.

Onlooker - I would've assumed your voluminous library of racing publications would've had that one covered.

That'd make sense about being registered abroad as I remember seeing a list a few decades ago about horses who
did avoid the cull and there were very few - Shy Talk was another to add to the roll call Foxy Top posted earlier.

Could you really believe that Julie Cecil would call the filly after her lady garden?
That's defo some kind of Spooner aficionado old perv...like ME

Speaking of Shy Talk, when did he finish racing? I have a vague recollection of the name from the late 70s.

There was a real ale called cunning stunts, and there was also a kite shop in Salisbury with the same name a few years back.

Turns out Shy Talk was a mare (1970) who went on to foal...

Shy Mistress '83
Summerwood Boy '84
Electrojet '88
Shy Talks Last '92....(aptly named)

In the early days of Captain Pugwash the BBC gave us Mater Bates. Seaman Staines and Roger the Cabin Boy!   

Tattcorner - so did Shy Talk finish racing around 1981/82?

Would you happen to know what grade she ran in and was SHE a sprinter?

Also...who owned/trained/rode her?

That would be interesting to find out Gibberish.

RP only gives progeny results but no racing form...guess it's too far back for results. You might guess she raced on for a while as first foal was 13 years after she was born.  Don't know if other sites have old form.

time for onlooker to whip out his old Timeform annuals

With advancing years one begins to suffer from CRS, can`t remember sh!t.

With advancing years one begins to suffer from CRS, can`t remember sh!t.

The memory of 'Shy Talk' is so vague for me as it's from a different lifetime it seems,
that I'm wondering whether it's the 'Mandela Effect' in that I believe I've seen it run,
but I might well've read about it instead as it's such a memorable name - I got into racing
in 1978 so when you're a novice (when presumably she was running) it's easy to get stuff
mixed up decades later.

I was surprised that Figjam was accepted. Apparently other golfers used this referring to Phil Mickelson.

Basic
Endgame
Trade
Fcuk
All
In
Running

SHY TALK

Last ran in 1981 - as a 5-yr-old - so the born in 1970 (racingpost) does not add up - 1976 would

Ran 13 times - Won 2 - 2nd 3 times - 3rd twice.

Trained by - A W 'Arthur' Jones at Oswestry - Owned by J (John?) Abbey

Last Win - on 11th outing that year - Clover Handicap 6f at Chepstow  Sept 12th Firm

5-7-10 -  A (Tony) Clark*5 (Guy Harwood's Apprentice)

Beat Gin Game and Chad's Gamble - Head and a length - 11 ran ... 2/1 FAV (from 7/2)


Will check more later - a bit busy right now.