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Get off my land

Posted by Gary Martin on August 29, 2008 at 11:15

In Reply to: Get off my land posted by John on August 28, 2008 at 08:41:

: Where does the phrase "get off my land" originate from?
: Some say the Two Ronnies, the Fast Show, or an Irish film.

: The appropriate accent seems to be Irish or Cornish.

I don't know the origin of this. It is fairly recent and doesn't appear in any of my English slang dictionaries. It may derive from the earlier pseudo-Cockney shout "Get orf me barrer" [barrow], which was used in BBC radio shows, by Arthur English and others, from WWII onward.

As you have probably noticed, it is usually delivered for comic effect by a horny-handed son of the soil as a means of establishing the character's belligerence and lack of social skills. The Archers' Joe Grundy would be a good model. Ronnie Barker often played yokels in that style and, if I had to guess, I'd guess the Two Ronnies.

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