# BritComs, Sights, and Gun

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britcoms-sights-and-gun/56062>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 27, 2001, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britcoms-sights-and-gun/56062 "2001-02-27T15:37:07Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![RainbowDragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6a8cbe/32.png) [@RainbowDragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RainbowDragon)\
**Post date:** [February 27, 2001, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britcoms-sights-and-gun/56062/1 "2001-02-27T15:37:07Z")

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Being a fan of British Comedy (“Are You Being Served”, “One Foot in the Grave”, etc.) I notice one particular hook phrase that generates canned laughter:

“The sights you see when you haven’t got your gun”

Where does this come from, and why would saying it be funny?  
Rainbow “I’ll buy that for a dollar” Dragon

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**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\
**Post date:** [February 27, 2001, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britcoms-sights-and-gun/56062/2 "2001-02-27T23:34:14Z")

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Er, I would never presume to attempt to explain British humor, but my WAG would be that it’s a rather lame pun on “gunsights”. You don’t have your gun and its “sights”, so you see other “sights”.

I don’t get Benny Hill, either. [sigh]

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**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\
**Post date:** [February 27, 2001, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britcoms-sights-and-gun/56062/3 "2001-02-27T23:52:33Z")

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Well, no-one finds Benny Hill funny. 🙂 But as for the “gun” thing, I don’t know its origin, but it just means that it is an unwelcome or unappealing sight, thing, or person, and if one had a gun, one could then be rid of the problem.

Sorry - I considered inventing a really interesting explanation, but couldn’t do it, really.

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**Author:** ![Scruff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Scruff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruff)\
**Post date:** [February 28, 2001, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britcoms-sights-and-gun/56062/4 "2001-02-28T01:41:19Z")

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I’ve always heard it as _“Eee, the things you see when you don’t have a gun.”_  
Rather than a play on ‘gunsight’, I think it’s just an expression of either disbelief or frustration.  
‘Disbelief’: As a response to a hunter who says that he saw a giant pheasant/Bigfoot/Nessie, but it got away.  
Or conversely, ‘Frustration’ when **you** are the one seeing something unbelievable and knowing that you will never be believed!

Then of course:  
1/ I’m English  
2/ I like Benny Hill (at least the Silent Movies and the Silly Songs)  
3/ Hi, opal.