# Use of the word "our" or "your" by British **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 7, 2007, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-our-or-your-by-british/387003 "2007-01-07T01:06:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cartigan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Cartigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartigan)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2007, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-our-or-your-by-british/387003/1 "2007-01-07T01:06:04Z")
I’ve been watching the show _Keeping Up Appearences_ and noticed the charactes of Daisy and Onslow and even Richard use the word “our” or “Your” to describe their relatives. Like Onslow will say “Is our Hyacynth coming?” or Richard will say "Your Daisy is very nice, you should invite her? I’ve watched a lot of “Brit-coms” but have never heard anyone else use that. Do the British talk that way? If so why doesn’t it only appear on this show? ---
**Author:** ![Cartigan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Cartigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartigan)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2007, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-our-or-your-by-british/387003/2 "2007-01-07T01:07:11Z")
Oops meant _KEEPING UP APPEARANCES_ Spelled it wrong ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2007, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-our-or-your-by-british/387003/3 "2007-01-07T01:15:09Z")
I’ve heard my fellow Americans in the US use it. Perhaps it’s a regional practise? ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2007, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-our-or-your-by-british/387003/4 "2007-01-07T01:18:18Z")
I don’t know the relationships in the show, but here’s my take on matters. “Our” would usually refer to family. “Your” would refer to in-laws and significant others. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2007, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-our-or-your-by-british/387003/5 "2007-01-07T01:19:54Z")
Short answer - yes, we do talk like that. Shortish answer - yes, we do, and the simplistic notion of class divide from _Keeping Up Appearances_ is far more complex in real life. Middle-ish answer…the “your Daisy” format is one I’d use happily without thinking. I’d wonder why it seemed strange, actually. On the other hand, the ‘our…’ construct is a northern one, which I couldn’t carry off convincingly in a million years. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2007, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-our-or-your-by-british/387003/6 "2007-01-07T01:25:40Z")
[QUOTE=GorillaMan] Middle-ish answer…the “your Daisy” format is one I’d use happily without thinking. I’d wonder why it seemed strange, actually. On the other hand, the ‘our…’ construct is a northern one, which I couldn’t carry off convincingly in a million years. [/QUOTE] Come to think of it, it’s the sort of thing that hereabouts is only used in a few circumstances eg arranging a wedding list or doing the Christmas cards. I can’t speak for everyday conversations in Yorkshire, say. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2007, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-our-or-your-by-british/387003/7 "2007-01-07T01:35:20Z")
To me, solidly middle-class southern English, the use of “our” or “your” tagged to a relative is completely alien to me, and something I would associate only with northern English people. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2007, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-our-or-your-by-british/387003/8 "2007-01-07T01:42:33Z")
[QUOTE=jjimm] To me, solidly middle-class southern English, the use of “our” or “your” tagged to a relative is completely alien to me, and something I would associate only with northern English people. [/QUOTE] Yerrrracist. In the east we manage to use weird words without sounding at all northern, thank you very much. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2007, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-our-or-your-by-british/387003/9 "2007-01-07T01:44:37Z")
I’ve heard it in conjunction with upper-class families in the eastern US, as in “Our Jessica just got accepted to Vassar.” ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2007, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-our-or-your-by-british/387003/10 "2007-01-07T01:45:24Z")
[QUOTE=GorillaMan] Yerrrracist. In the east we manage to use weird words without sounding at all northern, thank you very much. [/QUOTE] Eee by 'eck, oor Tommy’s a good Suffolk man, flat cap whippet black poooding &c. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2007, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-our-or-your-by-british/387003/11 "2007-01-07T01:48:10Z")
[QUOTE=jjimm] Eee by 'eck, oor Tommy’s a good Suffolk man, flat cap whippet black poooding &c. [/QUOTE] Wow…you needed a double top, but you hit a one, a double fifteen, and put the third dart into the dog sleeping under the board. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![tbdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@tbdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tbdi)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2007, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-our-or-your-by-british/387003/12 "2007-01-07T02:28:19Z")
I watch that frequently and the use that really sounds bizarre is when one character refers to another directly with ‘our’ as in Daisy speaking to Hyacinth and saying “Would you like a cup of tea our Hyacinth?”. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2007, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-our-or-your-by-british/387003/13 "2007-01-07T02:42:49Z")
It is not uncommon in coal-cracker country in PA. My friends up there will say things like “Our Tony was in the newspaper” Or, did you hear about our Michael? ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2007, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-our-or-your-by-british/387003/14 "2007-01-07T02:45:53Z")
i’m not in the uk, however i would use “our” and “your” when dealing with multiple people with the same name. your noel, or my noel, so a person could know which noel was being referenced. our noel, if i were insane enough to name a child noel, in a family that has way too many noels. ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2007, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-our-or-your-by-british/387003/15 "2007-01-07T03:13:57Z")
Hubby = from Yorkshire (Leeds). He’ll commonly use “Our” when referring to a member of his family, most commonly his cousin, Mark. It’s a habit I’ve picked up from him which led to my grandmother asking me one day “Who’s this ‘Armark’ you and Chris keep mentioning?” ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2007, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-our-or-your-by-british/387003/16 "2007-01-07T03:34:34Z")
[QUOTE=Sierra Indigo] Hubby = from Yorkshire (Leeds). He’ll commonly use “Our” when referring to a member of his family" [/QUOTE] Another Yorkshireman here. Yes, using “our” for family members is common. ---
**Author:** ![Cartigan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Cartigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartigan)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2007, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-our-or-your-by-british/387003/17 "2007-01-07T06:35:44Z")
I may be wrong, but I don’t believe the character Hyacynth uses the “our” or “your” nor the next-door neighbor Elizabeth. I may be wrong. But Richard definately uses it as does Daisy, Rose and Onslow. I would assume in terms of class Hyacynth is below Elizabeth but pretends not to be. But then I don’t know. The thing again, I watch other Brit-Coms and don’t seem to recall such usage. And since _Keep Up Appearances_ is about “Class” I assumed, maybe wrongly it has something to do with that. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2007, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-our-or-your-by-british/387003/18 "2007-01-07T06:52:29Z")
It happens in Australia too, but it’s generally a deliberate “cute-ism”. ---
**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2007, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-our-or-your-by-british/387003/19 "2007-01-07T08:01:14Z")
Now around here I often hear the construct “Our \ \<…\>” as a form a way of disapproving of \<…\> while still showing acceptance for \, regardless of relation. Before I saw this thread it never occurred to me that I have not necessarily seen this usage in print, on TV or even on the Internet. Am I just having a brain fart and is this common nationwide or is this something local to California? Just to be clear, for instance: “Our Steve likes to over-imbide on the weekends” which as opposed to “Steve likes to over-imbide on the weekends” carries the meaning that “He does bad things, but I still welcome him as part of my social group” Are the two usages related? ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2007, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-our-or-your-by-british/387003/20 "2007-01-07T08:40:10Z")
[QUOTE=jjimm] To me, solidly middle-class southern English, the use of “our” or “your” tagged to a relative is completely alien to me, and something I would associate only with northern English people. [/QUOTE] Yes well you live in a posh part of Merrie England , totally alienated 😃 from the harsh reality of life. Ooop here in’t frozen norf we view you lot with utter disdain 😛 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-our-or-your-by-british/387003.md?page=2)