Send her
down, Hughie!
Posted by R. Berg on January
24, 2003 In Reply to: Origin of an Australian
common phrase posted by Rob Sinclair on January 24, 2003
:
I am seeking the origins of a common Australian phrase
: "send her down Hughie"
Used when it's raining this phrase is appealing to the heavens for more and heavier
rain.
: Can you help ?
From Eric Partridge, "A Dictionary of Catch Phrases
American and British":
"send her down, Hughie!" (and ". . . , Steve!") This
Aus. -- hence also NZ -- catchphrase of late C19-20, the 'Steve' var. being used
during WW1, expresses a fervent desire for rain. . . . Variations of the next,
'her' for 'it' being characteristically Aus.
"send it down, David (with var.
"Davy lad")!" The var. belongs to the Regular Army; and the basic 'send it down,
David' is often intensified by the addition of a repetitive 'send it down': late
C19-20. In the army, esp. during WW1, it was used to implore David, the Welsh
patron saint, to send a preferably very heavy shower, notably when it might cause
a parade to be postponed or cancelled. Parts of Wales have a notoriously wet climate:
and, what is more, Wales is 'the Land of _Leeks_' (leaks).
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