He laughed like the proverbial drain. I am so thrilled Chris has inherited the Nisbet sarcasm gene. Looking back on life, I can see my father had this gift. So does my brother. And so do I. Just about everything my father said came out sarcastic. Watching a comedy show on tv "starring" Bob Monkhouse, he said: 'Some o these English audiences wid laugh if their teeth wur on fire.' He also hated the Scottish tendency to over-praise anything Scottish because it leaves us with 'a hooseful o second prizes.'
Is it a Scottish 'thing', sarcasm? I'm sure it's not just a teacher thing, although some of the best sarcastic comments I've heard have come from teachers. One colleague watched the grand progress of the director of education through the school, announcing yet another major educational development, commented: 'Here comes the man who can spot a bandwagon a mile away.'
Another colleague listened respectfully to a colleague who was shocked at the amount of drink consumed by teachers at a Xmas night out (she was new) and said sympathetically: 'Ach, Mairi, ye need to enjoy life: live long, die young and leave a beautiful corpse!'
Sarcasm is wasted on kids though. I have a bit of sympathy for the teacher who explains a task three times: once for the bright, twice for the not so bright and three times for the wee chubes that never listen, but still ends up with one wee chube asking: 'Whit've we tae dae?' The teacher's reply: 'Deef as well as daft, eh?' is not going to be understood by said wee chube (but may give the teacher a certain satisfaction).
Sarcasm properly used is an under-rated skill: it relieves tension, gives the listener a good snigger, and allows the sarcastic free rein to use the magic of language. Is there anything better than the Karen Dunbar line from Chewin the Fat?
I commend sarcasm to the house - if you can use it well. If you're a politician, forget it. Politicians have nae sense of timing and that's the secret of successful sarcasm.
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