A reader has asked me to explain the term "big girl's blouse".
It resists exact translation. The nearest I can come to it is "daft
apeth" (or haporth, or even halfpenny-worth, if you're not into that
whole short-form thing). Does that help?
My mother often calls me a daft apeth. It's an affectionate rebuke. Big girl's blouse, admittedly, adds intimations of being a sissy--either that or of coming from Bury (pronounced to rhyme with hurry), insofar as one can make this distinction. It appears that Kate Winslet called Leonardo DiCaprio a big girl's blouse during the filming of "Titanic", which is a bit strange because our Kate is not a northern lass.
Sorry for the confusion, chuck.
it is synonymous with the american term "pussy."
BGB = Daft 'apeth: Genius. Incidentally an american friend of mine is convinced that the english phrase is "Daft Aphid" -- which I quite like, actually.
But I don't think BGB is exclusively northern, not any more.
Oliver: I quite like "daft aphid" too. It reminds me, for some reason, of the fact that as a child I thought that the hay fever I suffer from was correctly known as "A-fever". I thought the A stood for allergy, and I always pronounced it very carefully, A-fever.
Repeat after me: In 'ertford, 'ereford and 'ampshire, 'urricanes 'ardly hever 'appen.