Gordon Bennett (expression)

Gordon Bennett! is an expression or exclamation common in some parts of the United Kingdom that connotes (often exasperated) surprise, annoyanceThe Chambers Dictionary, ISBN 0-550-10255-8] or shock.

Possible origins of the term

The origin of the expression is not entirely certain. It is probably a minced version of the blasphemous oath "(Oh) God!" which in its eventual form was inspired by the famous US-American newspaperman James Gordon Bennett, Jr. [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0304362255&id=YzG9fPXE9AMC&pg=PA108&lpg=PA108&dq=%22gordon++bennett%22&sig=xXJqAUSTVHQqT39mOibnbh-T1h0 Cassell's Dictionary of Word & Phrase Origins] ] .

Bennett — the son of James Gordon Bennett, senior — was a New York newspaper proprietor and playboy during the late 19th and early 20th centuries who became widely known in North America and Europe for his extravagant lifestyle and shocking behaviour. He has been described by the "Dictionary of American Biography" as having been "one of the most picturesque figures of two continents". For example, he arrived late and drunk at a party in the mansion of the family of his fiancée, socialite Caroline May, and then urinated into a fireplace in full view of his hosts. The engagement was broken off immediately, and the subsequent notoriety caused Bennett to move to France. This incident appeared in the "Guinness Book of World Records" under "Greatest Engagement Faux Pas" [http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/gordon.htm WorldWideWords: Gordon Bennett] ] .

A variant of the newspaper-mogul story is given by Anglophile American writer Bill Bryson as follows:

James Gordon Bennett, a newspaper baron, liked to announce his arrival in a restaurant by yanking the tablecloths from all the tables he passed. He would then hand the manager a wad of cash with which to compensate his victims for their lost meals and spattered attire. Though long forgotten in his native land, Bennett and his exploits were once world famous, and indeed his name lives on in England in the cry, "Gordon Bennett!" [http://homepage.eircom.net/~odyssey/Quotes/History/Bill_Bryson.html Bill Bryson on Gordon Bennett] ]

In popular culture

* A Beano comic-book character, Gordon Bennett, is based on the expression.
* The phrase has been used frequently by characters in several British television shows, including Del Boy in Only Fools and Horses, Harold Steptoe in Steptoe and Son, Holly in Red Dwarf and Ace in Doctor Who.
*The I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue game "Late Arrivals" often introduces the arrivals "Mr. and Mrs. Bennett-(Long phrase of exclamation relevant to the subject) and their son Gordon".

References