Did I mishear that? On The Archers, BBC radio's long-running soap drama, Brian asks of ex-offender Matt on tonight's episode:
'What was he like? Was he a bit odd?'
'Well he hasn't got two heads. Or a saxophone,' replies Matt.
Is the sax weird? The clarinet normal?
This from Collins Encyclopedia of Music (Wm Collins, 1957): '(It: sassophone; Ger. Saxophon). In 1846, Adolph Sax patented the saxophone, an instrument, although made of brass, belongs rather to the woodwind group.'And mark this: 'Of the seven members of the family the little used soprano in E flat is straight like a clarinet.'
Here we are, already deferring to clarinet (Fr. clarinette, Ger., Klarinette; It., clarinetto), a single-reed instrument, dating from the late 17th century.
'Why does Matt not say - "Well he hasn't got two heads. Or a clarinet."'
I may write to the BBC advocating an anti-saxism approach to programming.
About Me
- streetsax
- Bill Laws is the author of sixteen books, including Fifty Railways that Changed the Course of History and Fifty Plants That Changed the Course of History. He has been busking for a couple of years. www.billlaws.com
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