Wiki says John Lennon took the phrase from a barker. I assume it means something like “Come on, everyone!” or “Hey, take a look at this!” Is that right? Is the phrase still in use in the UK by hucksters, promoters, etc.? If so, is it self-consciously quaint nowadays? Did the Beatles song give it a new lease on (linguistic) life?
Yes, it basically just means: “come here” or “gather round”.
It’s not really in use today - except, perhaps, by people trying for a ‘nostalgic’ feel at a fairground or suchlike.
Yes, it basically means ‘pay attention to this’ and would be used by fair ground promoters, market traders and the like. It sounds a bit quaint/Victorian, but still gets quite a few Google hits so is still used by the media, if in a slightly tongue-in-cheek way.
Here’s an example from our nation’s finest toilet paper
You’ve hit the nail on the head with the meaning, “roll up!” means something along the lines of “come here everyone!”. It brings to mind a cricus master at a big top.
It’s not so quaint that it would be used only self-conciously. For example “Roll Up! Apples! A pawnd a pawnd!* Get your lovely apples!” would be somethign you’d almost certainly hear (or a variation) at a traditional british market.
*a pound (for) a pound
Only in the East End of London and probably only by someone putting on a show.
Markets in the rest of London and the rest of the country generally don’t use barkers.
Also, I think the appropriate phrase for a market would be: “Come and get 'em”, rather than “roll up, roll up”.
It isn’t a traditionalmarket without a barker IMO, you get barkers all over the country. I was born not solong ago in South London and the barkers are something I remember well. I know of a green grocer’s shop in central Reading that often has a barker.
The first time I encountered it was in one of James Herriot’s veterinarian books. I think it was the story about Mr. Partridge, whose dog had testicular cancer, and some hooligans had chalked something on his wall like “Roll up and see the famous one-balled dog!”
Stuck with me always, that did.
Yes, I realised after I posted that that I have hardly seen all the markets in the UK.
I think it’s very much the exception rather than the rule, though.
I remember one old chap who had a market stall in Richmond about 20 years ago who used to yell out “lovely, lovely” but he seemed somewhat incongruous. But, then again, it was Richmond.
I read about the founding of Two Guys (think K-Mart, Wal-Mart, Target). One cashier did a pitch that went “Ladies, ladies, come over, come over! We’ve got the merchandise! We’ve got it for you!” and was sternly warned not to do that again, as this was an enclosed store, not a stall market.
“Roll up and see the famous Chinese dog, Wun Hung Lo”
Roll up
Roll up
Roll up
See the show!
Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s Karn Evil 9 (third impression, I think)
It still gets used in advertising here. It’s also used in questions about the turnout at an event, meeting etc: “what sort of roll-up did you get?”
I would expect that John also liked the connotation that ‘roll-up’ has with making a joint!
For an idea how it was used in Victorian times, see The Elephant Man musical from the movie The Tall Guy. See from 6:30 onwards.
Thank you! Knew it wasn’t quite right…
I disagree that it’s exceptional, based on anecdotal evidence: the market in the Oxfordshire town where I grew up had fruit & veg barkers: “'Ere y’are ladies, pound a mush, firty pee!” and so did Portobello market in the west of London when I visited it.