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Fish nets Hen

Posted by Gary on October 14, 2003

Has the word mardy travelled outside Yorkshire? It's used here all the time. The OED has it defined as 'Northern English - sulky and whining', and I can't do better than that.

I ask because I've just enjoyed seeing on the BBC web site sports pages that Tim Henman has been beaten by 'a Mardy Fish'. Turns out that young Mardy isn't a bad tempered haddock as I first thought but a tennis player.

Picture the scene conjured by the BBC report: "a nervous Fish double-faulted three times as he attempted to serve out the win".

PS. Why can't people just lose tennis matches any longer? They seem to be obliged to 'crash out' of them. Scales and feathers everywhere - messy.

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