# Do British people really say Gov'nor? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 10, 2003, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-people-really-say-govnor/187530 "2003-07-10T18:53:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tim\_Winker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/71e660/32.png) [@Tim\_Winker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_Winker)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-people-really-say-govnor/187530/1 "2003-07-10T18:53:15Z")
I’ve been lurking for a while and I haven’t seen this asked before, and I’ve always wondered. Do British people really say Gov’nor? Or did they used to and don’t any more? If they ever did, where did it come from? ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-people-really-say-govnor/187530/2 "2003-07-10T18:58:41Z")
Not very often. I’ve only ever been called guv’nor (in my experienced pronounced _guv’nah_) by the occasional taxi driver, and then only ones obviously from the East End of London. I’d be surprised if it was common in any other British accent. ---
**Author:** ![MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bb73d2/32.png) [@MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MC_Master_of_Ceremonies)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-people-really-say-govnor/187530/3 "2003-07-10T19:14:15Z")
Guv’nor (i.e. governor) means ‘boss’ in British slang. For example when people talk about ‘The Guv’nor’ they mean ‘my boss’ (you’ll find that British football [soccer] players say this all the time when talking about their manager [head coach]). ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_Winker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/71e660/32.png) [@Tim\_Winker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_Winker)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-people-really-say-govnor/187530/4 "2003-07-10T21:44:17Z")
So where did it originate? I can think of dozens of better words to use for boss than “Governor” - King, Queen, Prince, Mayor, Duke, etc etc. Why governor? ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-people-really-say-govnor/187530/5 "2003-07-10T22:46:20Z")
Why not? ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_Winker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/71e660/32.png) [@Tim\_Winker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_Winker)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-people-really-say-govnor/187530/6 "2003-07-10T23:02:42Z")
Because it’s a mouthful. With the exception of Mayor, all my examples are only one syllable. There must be a reasoln for it, something out of an old book or the like. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_great_unwashed/32/4791_2.png) [@The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-people-really-say-govnor/187530/7 "2003-07-10T23:04:18Z")
Simple, it’s _Cockney Rhyming Slang_: **Governor** _short for_ **Governor Bush** _rhymes with_ **Mush** _meaning_ **Ice-Cream** ,… or somthing. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-people-really-say-govnor/187530/8 "2003-07-10T23:08:36Z")
In what way would King, Queen, Prince, Mayor or Duke be a more applicable term for your employer or a person paying you for some service? Governor is just a general term for the person in charge, all the others you’ve mentioned are titles of office. **Crusoe** and **MC Master of Ceremonies** are correct that it is used, but only in isolated cases. Boss is also used and if the speaker really cares about economy of speech he abbreviates gov’nor to “guv”. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_Winker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/71e660/32.png) [@Tim\_Winker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_Winker)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-people-really-say-govnor/187530/9 "2003-07-10T23:17:08Z")
I think my confusion comes from assuming governor has always meant a political authority rather than just a simple term meaning “boss” - and I wondered why governor was chosen way back when over King, Queen, Duke, etc. My bad. I have my answer anyway, so a Moderator can close this. Thanks for your help everyone - this has bothered me so much I delurked to post it, so thanks also for bringing me out of my shell! ---
**Author:** ![punkkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7feea3/32.png) [@punkkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/punkkid)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-people-really-say-govnor/187530/10 "2003-07-11T01:36:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Great Unwashed \* > \*\*Simple, it’s _Cockney Rhyming Slang_: > > **Governor** _short for_ **Governor Bush** _rhymes with_ **Mush** _meaning_ **Ice-Cream** ,… or somthing. \*\* lol. I guess only a fellow Brit would get that joke… ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-people-really-say-govnor/187530/11 "2003-07-11T06:25:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by punkkid \* > \*\*lol. I guess only a fellow Brit would get that joke… \*\* Well I’m a Brit and it has got me confused. ---
**Author:** ![garius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e19b73/32.png) [@garius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garius)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-people-really-say-govnor/187530/12 "2003-07-11T10:25:35Z")
if you want to pronounce it right, its probably much nearer to “guvnah”. And its pretty archaic these days. The only time you’ll really hear it is when football (Thats “soccer” to you barbaric ex-colonials) players are talking about the team manager. Then the term is used quite a lot. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-people-really-say-govnor/187530/13 "2003-07-11T10:30:00Z")
it’s usually abbreviated to just “Guv” you hear it a lot on cop shows, don’t know if real life cops use it a lot though (no reason to suppose they don’t) ---
**Author:** ![Iteki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/eada6e/32.png) [@Iteki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iteki)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-people-really-say-govnor/187530/14 "2003-07-11T10:30:52Z")
Also used to refer to prison governers no? ---
**Author:** ![Shrinking\_Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Shrinking\_Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shrinking_Violet)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-people-really-say-govnor/187530/15 "2003-07-11T17:28:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by amanset \* > \*\*Well I’m a Brit and it has got me confused. \*\* Yeah, me too. I think the term guv or guv’nah would only be used towards/in reference to a male, _not_ a female. Or have I led a sheltered life? 🙂 Julie ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-people-really-say-govnor/187530/16 "2003-07-11T18:20:34Z")
Footballers tend to say “gaffer”, not “guv’nor”. Same meaning, not sure about the derivation. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-people-really-say-govnor/187530/17 "2003-07-11T19:31:59Z")
What you’ve got to remember when asking about UK speech is that accents and dialects vary widely even between towns very close to each other. The word “guvnah” is applicable only to cockneys, although it has been taken up by others as of late. I’ve heard taxi drivers say it when I was in London, but it’s hardly ever used around here (the north). ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-people-really-say-govnor/187530/18 "2003-07-11T19:34:58Z")
My Oxford Etymological Dictionary tells me “gaffer” is probably a contraction of “godfather” … it rather predates Mario Puzo, though, so it’s probably a term that got generically applied to paternalistic authority figures. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-people-really-say-govnor/187530/19 "2003-07-11T19:48:33Z")
From [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com) > [@](#): > > Chiefly British. An old man or a rustic. > Chiefly British. A boss or foreman. Doesn’t Tolkien use gaffer for grandfather? ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Friendly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Mr\_Friendly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Friendly)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-people-really-say-govnor/187530/20 "2003-07-11T20:33:56Z")
I say “mate” or “boss” but not “guvnor” tho I think the first two are terms that perhaps Americans wouldnt use? You dont hear guvnah much tho, and in other news the streets of London are not constantly foggy either! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-people-really-say-govnor/187530.md?page=2)