Mine’s a gin and tonic





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I encountered a sentence that's full of British culture:




I have found a pair of my father’s old tan driving gloves, the sort that say ‘Mine’s a gin and tonic’ and that my mother would have accessorized with her horsey headscarf from Country Casuals.




I found out that Country Casuals is a brand of clothing, but I don't understand what the phrase ‘Mine’s a gin and tonic’ means... I only know that gin and tonic is a popular drink in the UK, but what does the phrase mean here?



Also, I'm not a hundred percent sure of the meaning of 'horsey' too. The closest definition I believe is 'large and clumsy' but it feels a bit odd in this sentence.










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  • Before I saw you accepted the answer, I presumed your question was what gin and tonic had to do with riding gloves
    – Mr Lister
    yesterday










  • Note that a google search shows the use of "mine's a gin and tonic" used in all sorts of labels on commercial products as though it means something special, but with little indication of what exactly the implication is. I roughly think of it as a serious or sarcastic enthusiasm for the alcoholic drink.
    – Mitch
    yesterday

















up vote
20
down vote

favorite












I encountered a sentence that's full of British culture:




I have found a pair of my father’s old tan driving gloves, the sort that say ‘Mine’s a gin and tonic’ and that my mother would have accessorized with her horsey headscarf from Country Casuals.




I found out that Country Casuals is a brand of clothing, but I don't understand what the phrase ‘Mine’s a gin and tonic’ means... I only know that gin and tonic is a popular drink in the UK, but what does the phrase mean here?



Also, I'm not a hundred percent sure of the meaning of 'horsey' too. The closest definition I believe is 'large and clumsy' but it feels a bit odd in this sentence.










share|improve this question






















  • Before I saw you accepted the answer, I presumed your question was what gin and tonic had to do with riding gloves
    – Mr Lister
    yesterday










  • Note that a google search shows the use of "mine's a gin and tonic" used in all sorts of labels on commercial products as though it means something special, but with little indication of what exactly the implication is. I roughly think of it as a serious or sarcastic enthusiasm for the alcoholic drink.
    – Mitch
    yesterday













up vote
20
down vote

favorite









up vote
20
down vote

favorite











I encountered a sentence that's full of British culture:




I have found a pair of my father’s old tan driving gloves, the sort that say ‘Mine’s a gin and tonic’ and that my mother would have accessorized with her horsey headscarf from Country Casuals.




I found out that Country Casuals is a brand of clothing, but I don't understand what the phrase ‘Mine’s a gin and tonic’ means... I only know that gin and tonic is a popular drink in the UK, but what does the phrase mean here?



Also, I'm not a hundred percent sure of the meaning of 'horsey' too. The closest definition I believe is 'large and clumsy' but it feels a bit odd in this sentence.










share|improve this question













I encountered a sentence that's full of British culture:




I have found a pair of my father’s old tan driving gloves, the sort that say ‘Mine’s a gin and tonic’ and that my mother would have accessorized with her horsey headscarf from Country Casuals.




I found out that Country Casuals is a brand of clothing, but I don't understand what the phrase ‘Mine’s a gin and tonic’ means... I only know that gin and tonic is a popular drink in the UK, but what does the phrase mean here?



Also, I'm not a hundred percent sure of the meaning of 'horsey' too. The closest definition I believe is 'large and clumsy' but it feels a bit odd in this sentence.







meaning phrase-meaning






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share|improve this question











share|improve this question




share|improve this question










asked yesterday









Olivia Lo

13615




13615












  • Before I saw you accepted the answer, I presumed your question was what gin and tonic had to do with riding gloves
    – Mr Lister
    yesterday










  • Note that a google search shows the use of "mine's a gin and tonic" used in all sorts of labels on commercial products as though it means something special, but with little indication of what exactly the implication is. I roughly think of it as a serious or sarcastic enthusiasm for the alcoholic drink.
    – Mitch
    yesterday


















  • Before I saw you accepted the answer, I presumed your question was what gin and tonic had to do with riding gloves
    – Mr Lister
    yesterday










  • Note that a google search shows the use of "mine's a gin and tonic" used in all sorts of labels on commercial products as though it means something special, but with little indication of what exactly the implication is. I roughly think of it as a serious or sarcastic enthusiasm for the alcoholic drink.
    – Mitch
    yesterday
















Before I saw you accepted the answer, I presumed your question was what gin and tonic had to do with riding gloves
– Mr Lister
yesterday




Before I saw you accepted the answer, I presumed your question was what gin and tonic had to do with riding gloves
– Mr Lister
yesterday












Note that a google search shows the use of "mine's a gin and tonic" used in all sorts of labels on commercial products as though it means something special, but with little indication of what exactly the implication is. I roughly think of it as a serious or sarcastic enthusiasm for the alcoholic drink.
– Mitch
yesterday




Note that a google search shows the use of "mine's a gin and tonic" used in all sorts of labels on commercial products as though it means something special, but with little indication of what exactly the implication is. I roughly think of it as a serious or sarcastic enthusiasm for the alcoholic drink.
– Mitch
yesterday










7 Answers
7






active

oldest

votes

















up vote
24
down vote



accepted











"Mine's a [name of alcoholic beverage]" is said in a pub when someone
is buying a round of drinks.




Example



John: It's my turn to buy a round. What's yours Susan?



Susan: Mine’s a gin and tonic, thanks.



John: What about you Bill?



Bill: Mine's a pint of lager.



Etc.



So:



What's yours? = What drink do you wish to have?



Mine's a ... = I'd like a ...




'Horsey' refers to a certain type of upper-class person who owns and
rides horses




They spend a lot of time outdoors with their horses and the women often wear a headscarf as a protection against the weather.



Below is a photograph of H.M. Queen Elizabeth looking at horses whilst wearing a headscarf.



The Queen (in a headscarf) looking at horses with uniformed riders






share|improve this answer



















  • 21




    It might be worth explicitly adding the class implications to this. Lager versus mixed drinks (the example you've chosen) are a particularly nice 1970s case.
    – origimbo
    yesterday








  • 6




    This answers one half of the (implicit) question; namely, what the sentence fragment in the title means. But it doesn’t yet tie it to the gloves (“the sort that say …”). As an aside, your use of blockquote formatting is a bit confusing: it seems like you’re quoting somebody. Maybe it would be clearer to put these sections in bold instead.
    – Konrad Rudolph
    yesterday








  • 9




    "Well, I'm off to do my chores." "What chores?" "Oh thanks very much, mine's a gin & tonic!"
    – Jeremy
    yesterday






  • 12




    @user240918 There certainly is in the UK. Buying a horse is expensive; and maintaining a horse in stables is even more so. Horses therefore tend to be owned by richer people. This does not necessarily link to class, but they may be an "aspirational" purchase to demonstrate the ability to afford one for your daughter. (Horse riding is overwhelmingly a female hobby/sport in Britain. Like any outdoor sport, caring for a horse in unforgiving of pretension though, leading to the stereotype of the "horsey" woman as being upper-class with a very practical and down-to-earth attitude.
    – Graham
    yesterday








  • 7




    To add to Graham's point, I wouldn't describe for example a stable-hand as "horsey" even though they obviously work with horses full time. "Horsey" has a very definite upper-class connotation.
    – Daniel Roseman
    yesterday


















up vote
36
down vote













chasly from UK's answer is correct, I think what the author is really trying to get across is that they're posh, or at least dress that way. A gin and tonic is a popular enough drink with all classes of England now, but if you look like your drink of choice is a G&T then your are definitely not working class.



The picture included in the discussion of the word horsey is of the Queen, I think that's a great choice of picture. It can also mean is interested in horses generally, but I don't think it does in this context.



This is only an answer not a comment as I don't have the reputation.






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user324066 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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  • 1




    That's not the Queen, that's Princess Anne.
    – Martin Bonner
    yesterday










  • I take it back. You are quite right.
    – Martin Bonner
    yesterday






  • 4




    It is an old photo of Queen Elizabeth II. Possibly from the late 1960s or 70s
    – Mari-Lou A
    yesterday






  • 14




    I don't think this should be a comment, it's actually the correct answer where the accepted one has missed the point. It would be better if you could fully expand it to include the relevant points from chasly's answer.
    – Jack Aidley
    yesterday


















up vote
16
down vote













To add an answer about the gloves:



Back in the 1950s/60s, gloves with (especially tan-coloured) leather palms were a fashionable accessory for drivers of sports cars and similar vehicles (and those aspiring to them).



(Practical too, providing warmth and grip, in the days before effective heating and padded leather steering wheels.)



Thus they would be an indicator of a similar class of person to the G&T drinker - affluent middle-class, or ostentatiously pretending to be such.






share|improve this answer

















  • 1




    They were known as the "Gin & Jag Brigade." The drink 'must' match the car.
    – Tetsujin
    9 hours ago












  • The fact that the mother merely "accessorizes" with a horsey headscarf indicates to me that they aren't real country toffs. They might still be upper (middle) class, but if so definitely more of the metropolitan sort.
    – AkselA
    7 hours ago


















up vote
5
down vote













To add an answer about the gin:



Gin has a long history and so it is not surprising they its social status had varied considerably. In British culture the biggest change was when what had previously been cheap alcohol for working-class Londoners became fashionable amongst British Army officers in India. They had been encouraged to consume quinine as an anti-malarial drug and this was made more palatable by making it into tonic water. It was found that gin made this even more palatable and soon replaced whisky and brandy.



I see from Wikipedia that G&T (as it is often referred to in the UK) is a cocktail. However no one thinks of it like this in the UK. It is just the normal way to serve gin.



All the references in the quote in the question plant us firmly in the 60s-70s-80s. At the time a particular sort of person would have had a particular sort of drink. Since then there had been a gradual trend against stereotypical drinking towards people simply drinking what they like so a drink choice says much less about someone then it used to.






share|improve this answer





















  • If there has been a trend towards drinking what you like I would have thought that a drink choice now says more about someone than it used to, not less. Or am I misunderstanding your point?
    – skomisa
    9 hours ago










  • @skomisa - quite the inverse; it now says absolutely nothing. People used to drink what they were expected to drink, to conform to their [perceived] social status.
    – Tetsujin
    9 hours ago


















up vote
2
down vote













Some of the other answers have made headway, as regards the definition of 'mine's a G&T', but the entire point of the quote is really to define this couple in a single sentence.



They are both middle-class, from a time when that was 'more important' to be recognised as such than it is today.



He has gloves which suggest he drove a sports car or Jaguar*, which would define his drink as G&T rather than beer. Her mode of dress would be appropriate to that & a weekend at the horse trials.



It defines an entire class & culture from (probably) the 50s/60s in one sentence.



Below is a comment on the outmoded class-structure in the UK at the time, not my personal opinion...

*This would make him one of the class defined by those not belonging to it as 'The Gin & Jag Brigade'. It was a derogatory description, usually used by those who would prefer beer, even if they could afford the car.



'Horsey' describes the type of person who would attend gymkhanas & horse trials & describes the kind of attire one would wear to those... but (if it were not the author talking about her own mother, but a general perception of those times) could be a double 'attack/criticism' on not only the social class of the woman, but also her (alluded to) visual appearance. Large-framed, broad-hipped, long-faced; similar appearance to the horse she is accustomed to riding, or did in her youth.

Note that even in these times, the description 'horsey' wouldn't ordinarily be applied to someone with merely the physical appearance mentioned above - it would have to go hand-in-hand with the social definition.



Refs for 'the Gin & Jag Brigade'.

I can't find a dictionary definition as yet, but a couple of newspaper reports using it in such a way that it's obvious they fully expect their readership to already be well-aware of the term.



The Telegraph - They can't mean us



The Guardian - Town bristles at 'gin and Jag' slur



Urban Dictionary has a non-authoritive definition



Also... Ask Andy About Clothes but please take your social-responsibility-for-the-easily-offended hard-hat with you to this one, which is full of 'colourful' explanations - though technically just about SFW (safe for work).






share|improve this answer























  • Good answer until I reached the "horsey" bit. I don't think a daughter, it's in the quoted text, would every describe their mother as looking horsey. It would be strange for a daughter to attack and criticise the social class of her very own parents, as she most likely belongs to the same bourgeois or a little higher: the upper-middle class
    – Mari-Lou A
    9 hours ago










  • You're very probably right;) - at the end I swapped from 'the author' to 'general commentary' on how this would probably be perceived at the time.
    – Tetsujin
    9 hours ago










  • @Mari-LouA - re-cast, hopefully in a better light.
    – Tetsujin
    9 hours ago










  • I can't find a definition, as such, but it's deeply-embedded in the culture. I found a couple of newspaper reports that use it expecting their readership to know exactly what it means already.
    – Tetsujin
    8 hours ago






  • 1




    btw, square brackets are because I can't easily reach the rounded ones, fingers not so good as they used to be.
    – Tetsujin
    8 hours ago


















up vote
1
down vote













Literal answer



In a social setting, it is common to ask people what they are drinking. If there is a group of people, a conversation may go:



"What are you drinking?"



"Beer, and yourself?"



"Mine's a gin and tonic."



Where "mine's" is short for "my drink is".



Why is this in your book



Richard Boston was a politically comedic journalist (akin to Mark Twain or Gary Trudue) who was born in London in 1938. He wrote a beer column which highlighted local/small breweries rather than the big names. This made him popular with the brewers, but he had a secret, he didn't like beer. When they would ask him what beer he was drinking, his reply was "mine's a pink gin." Wikipedia



Pink gin is simply another type of gin, which can be mixed with tonic.



I do not know why the phrase has been changed from the quote. There is another article that quotes him as saying "mine's a gin and tonic" directly: click



I do believe this meaning gives a more nuanced description of the character.



Horsey



As said in other answers, "horsey" is a description of someone who enjoys the less labor intensive aspects of owning a horse.






share|improve this answer





















  • Note "a pink gin" at the time was not another type of gin - it was gin with Angostura Bitters (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angostura_bitters) - a good bar tender would ask the customer if they liked it "in or out" - i.e. a few drops of the bitters left in the glass or swilled around the glass then discarded. In recent years there has been a trend for flavored gins some pink but this was not what he was asking for in the quote.
    – Steve Barnes
    1 min ago


















up vote
-2
down vote













I don't fully agree with chasly from UK. Obviously, horsey is an adjective here, and has nothing to do with 'upper-class' according to wiktionary.






share|improve this answer





















  • Wiktionary doesn't mention anything about context or connotations. It limits itself to providing a definition. The father wore driving gloves, the mother wore headscarves, and clothes from an expensive retailer, there are enough clues here to give us a good general picture of their financial situation.
    – Mari-Lou A
    6 hours ago













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7 Answers
7






active

oldest

votes








7 Answers
7






active

oldest

votes









active

oldest

votes






active

oldest

votes








up vote
24
down vote



accepted











"Mine's a [name of alcoholic beverage]" is said in a pub when someone
is buying a round of drinks.




Example



John: It's my turn to buy a round. What's yours Susan?



Susan: Mine’s a gin and tonic, thanks.



John: What about you Bill?



Bill: Mine's a pint of lager.



Etc.



So:



What's yours? = What drink do you wish to have?



Mine's a ... = I'd like a ...




'Horsey' refers to a certain type of upper-class person who owns and
rides horses




They spend a lot of time outdoors with their horses and the women often wear a headscarf as a protection against the weather.



Below is a photograph of H.M. Queen Elizabeth looking at horses whilst wearing a headscarf.



The Queen (in a headscarf) looking at horses with uniformed riders






share|improve this answer



















  • 21




    It might be worth explicitly adding the class implications to this. Lager versus mixed drinks (the example you've chosen) are a particularly nice 1970s case.
    – origimbo
    yesterday








  • 6




    This answers one half of the (implicit) question; namely, what the sentence fragment in the title means. But it doesn’t yet tie it to the gloves (“the sort that say …”). As an aside, your use of blockquote formatting is a bit confusing: it seems like you’re quoting somebody. Maybe it would be clearer to put these sections in bold instead.
    – Konrad Rudolph
    yesterday








  • 9




    "Well, I'm off to do my chores." "What chores?" "Oh thanks very much, mine's a gin & tonic!"
    – Jeremy
    yesterday






  • 12




    @user240918 There certainly is in the UK. Buying a horse is expensive; and maintaining a horse in stables is even more so. Horses therefore tend to be owned by richer people. This does not necessarily link to class, but they may be an "aspirational" purchase to demonstrate the ability to afford one for your daughter. (Horse riding is overwhelmingly a female hobby/sport in Britain. Like any outdoor sport, caring for a horse in unforgiving of pretension though, leading to the stereotype of the "horsey" woman as being upper-class with a very practical and down-to-earth attitude.
    – Graham
    yesterday








  • 7




    To add to Graham's point, I wouldn't describe for example a stable-hand as "horsey" even though they obviously work with horses full time. "Horsey" has a very definite upper-class connotation.
    – Daniel Roseman
    yesterday















up vote
24
down vote



accepted











"Mine's a [name of alcoholic beverage]" is said in a pub when someone
is buying a round of drinks.




Example



John: It's my turn to buy a round. What's yours Susan?



Susan: Mine’s a gin and tonic, thanks.



John: What about you Bill?



Bill: Mine's a pint of lager.



Etc.



So:



What's yours? = What drink do you wish to have?



Mine's a ... = I'd like a ...




'Horsey' refers to a certain type of upper-class person who owns and
rides horses




They spend a lot of time outdoors with their horses and the women often wear a headscarf as a protection against the weather.



Below is a photograph of H.M. Queen Elizabeth looking at horses whilst wearing a headscarf.



The Queen (in a headscarf) looking at horses with uniformed riders






share|improve this answer



















  • 21




    It might be worth explicitly adding the class implications to this. Lager versus mixed drinks (the example you've chosen) are a particularly nice 1970s case.
    – origimbo
    yesterday








  • 6




    This answers one half of the (implicit) question; namely, what the sentence fragment in the title means. But it doesn’t yet tie it to the gloves (“the sort that say …”). As an aside, your use of blockquote formatting is a bit confusing: it seems like you’re quoting somebody. Maybe it would be clearer to put these sections in bold instead.
    – Konrad Rudolph
    yesterday








  • 9




    "Well, I'm off to do my chores." "What chores?" "Oh thanks very much, mine's a gin & tonic!"
    – Jeremy
    yesterday






  • 12




    @user240918 There certainly is in the UK. Buying a horse is expensive; and maintaining a horse in stables is even more so. Horses therefore tend to be owned by richer people. This does not necessarily link to class, but they may be an "aspirational" purchase to demonstrate the ability to afford one for your daughter. (Horse riding is overwhelmingly a female hobby/sport in Britain. Like any outdoor sport, caring for a horse in unforgiving of pretension though, leading to the stereotype of the "horsey" woman as being upper-class with a very practical and down-to-earth attitude.
    – Graham
    yesterday








  • 7




    To add to Graham's point, I wouldn't describe for example a stable-hand as "horsey" even though they obviously work with horses full time. "Horsey" has a very definite upper-class connotation.
    – Daniel Roseman
    yesterday













up vote
24
down vote



accepted







up vote
24
down vote



accepted







"Mine's a [name of alcoholic beverage]" is said in a pub when someone
is buying a round of drinks.




Example



John: It's my turn to buy a round. What's yours Susan?



Susan: Mine’s a gin and tonic, thanks.



John: What about you Bill?



Bill: Mine's a pint of lager.



Etc.



So:



What's yours? = What drink do you wish to have?



Mine's a ... = I'd like a ...




'Horsey' refers to a certain type of upper-class person who owns and
rides horses




They spend a lot of time outdoors with their horses and the women often wear a headscarf as a protection against the weather.



Below is a photograph of H.M. Queen Elizabeth looking at horses whilst wearing a headscarf.



The Queen (in a headscarf) looking at horses with uniformed riders






share|improve this answer















"Mine's a [name of alcoholic beverage]" is said in a pub when someone
is buying a round of drinks.




Example



John: It's my turn to buy a round. What's yours Susan?



Susan: Mine’s a gin and tonic, thanks.



John: What about you Bill?



Bill: Mine's a pint of lager.



Etc.



So:



What's yours? = What drink do you wish to have?



Mine's a ... = I'd like a ...




'Horsey' refers to a certain type of upper-class person who owns and
rides horses




They spend a lot of time outdoors with their horses and the women often wear a headscarf as a protection against the weather.



Below is a photograph of H.M. Queen Elizabeth looking at horses whilst wearing a headscarf.



The Queen (in a headscarf) looking at horses with uniformed riders







share|improve this answer














share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer








edited yesterday

























answered yesterday









chasly from UK

21.9k12864




21.9k12864








  • 21




    It might be worth explicitly adding the class implications to this. Lager versus mixed drinks (the example you've chosen) are a particularly nice 1970s case.
    – origimbo
    yesterday








  • 6




    This answers one half of the (implicit) question; namely, what the sentence fragment in the title means. But it doesn’t yet tie it to the gloves (“the sort that say …”). As an aside, your use of blockquote formatting is a bit confusing: it seems like you’re quoting somebody. Maybe it would be clearer to put these sections in bold instead.
    – Konrad Rudolph
    yesterday








  • 9




    "Well, I'm off to do my chores." "What chores?" "Oh thanks very much, mine's a gin & tonic!"
    – Jeremy
    yesterday






  • 12




    @user240918 There certainly is in the UK. Buying a horse is expensive; and maintaining a horse in stables is even more so. Horses therefore tend to be owned by richer people. This does not necessarily link to class, but they may be an "aspirational" purchase to demonstrate the ability to afford one for your daughter. (Horse riding is overwhelmingly a female hobby/sport in Britain. Like any outdoor sport, caring for a horse in unforgiving of pretension though, leading to the stereotype of the "horsey" woman as being upper-class with a very practical and down-to-earth attitude.
    – Graham
    yesterday








  • 7




    To add to Graham's point, I wouldn't describe for example a stable-hand as "horsey" even though they obviously work with horses full time. "Horsey" has a very definite upper-class connotation.
    – Daniel Roseman
    yesterday














  • 21




    It might be worth explicitly adding the class implications to this. Lager versus mixed drinks (the example you've chosen) are a particularly nice 1970s case.
    – origimbo
    yesterday








  • 6




    This answers one half of the (implicit) question; namely, what the sentence fragment in the title means. But it doesn’t yet tie it to the gloves (“the sort that say …”). As an aside, your use of blockquote formatting is a bit confusing: it seems like you’re quoting somebody. Maybe it would be clearer to put these sections in bold instead.
    – Konrad Rudolph
    yesterday








  • 9




    "Well, I'm off to do my chores." "What chores?" "Oh thanks very much, mine's a gin & tonic!"
    – Jeremy
    yesterday






  • 12




    @user240918 There certainly is in the UK. Buying a horse is expensive; and maintaining a horse in stables is even more so. Horses therefore tend to be owned by richer people. This does not necessarily link to class, but they may be an "aspirational" purchase to demonstrate the ability to afford one for your daughter. (Horse riding is overwhelmingly a female hobby/sport in Britain. Like any outdoor sport, caring for a horse in unforgiving of pretension though, leading to the stereotype of the "horsey" woman as being upper-class with a very practical and down-to-earth attitude.
    – Graham
    yesterday








  • 7




    To add to Graham's point, I wouldn't describe for example a stable-hand as "horsey" even though they obviously work with horses full time. "Horsey" has a very definite upper-class connotation.
    – Daniel Roseman
    yesterday








21




21




It might be worth explicitly adding the class implications to this. Lager versus mixed drinks (the example you've chosen) are a particularly nice 1970s case.
– origimbo
yesterday






It might be worth explicitly adding the class implications to this. Lager versus mixed drinks (the example you've chosen) are a particularly nice 1970s case.
– origimbo
yesterday






6




6




This answers one half of the (implicit) question; namely, what the sentence fragment in the title means. But it doesn’t yet tie it to the gloves (“the sort that say …”). As an aside, your use of blockquote formatting is a bit confusing: it seems like you’re quoting somebody. Maybe it would be clearer to put these sections in bold instead.
– Konrad Rudolph
yesterday






This answers one half of the (implicit) question; namely, what the sentence fragment in the title means. But it doesn’t yet tie it to the gloves (“the sort that say …”). As an aside, your use of blockquote formatting is a bit confusing: it seems like you’re quoting somebody. Maybe it would be clearer to put these sections in bold instead.
– Konrad Rudolph
yesterday






9




9




"Well, I'm off to do my chores." "What chores?" "Oh thanks very much, mine's a gin & tonic!"
– Jeremy
yesterday




"Well, I'm off to do my chores." "What chores?" "Oh thanks very much, mine's a gin & tonic!"
– Jeremy
yesterday




12




12




@user240918 There certainly is in the UK. Buying a horse is expensive; and maintaining a horse in stables is even more so. Horses therefore tend to be owned by richer people. This does not necessarily link to class, but they may be an "aspirational" purchase to demonstrate the ability to afford one for your daughter. (Horse riding is overwhelmingly a female hobby/sport in Britain. Like any outdoor sport, caring for a horse in unforgiving of pretension though, leading to the stereotype of the "horsey" woman as being upper-class with a very practical and down-to-earth attitude.
– Graham
yesterday






@user240918 There certainly is in the UK. Buying a horse is expensive; and maintaining a horse in stables is even more so. Horses therefore tend to be owned by richer people. This does not necessarily link to class, but they may be an "aspirational" purchase to demonstrate the ability to afford one for your daughter. (Horse riding is overwhelmingly a female hobby/sport in Britain. Like any outdoor sport, caring for a horse in unforgiving of pretension though, leading to the stereotype of the "horsey" woman as being upper-class with a very practical and down-to-earth attitude.
– Graham
yesterday






7




7




To add to Graham's point, I wouldn't describe for example a stable-hand as "horsey" even though they obviously work with horses full time. "Horsey" has a very definite upper-class connotation.
– Daniel Roseman
yesterday




To add to Graham's point, I wouldn't describe for example a stable-hand as "horsey" even though they obviously work with horses full time. "Horsey" has a very definite upper-class connotation.
– Daniel Roseman
yesterday












up vote
36
down vote













chasly from UK's answer is correct, I think what the author is really trying to get across is that they're posh, or at least dress that way. A gin and tonic is a popular enough drink with all classes of England now, but if you look like your drink of choice is a G&T then your are definitely not working class.



The picture included in the discussion of the word horsey is of the Queen, I think that's a great choice of picture. It can also mean is interested in horses generally, but I don't think it does in this context.



This is only an answer not a comment as I don't have the reputation.






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user324066 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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  • 1




    That's not the Queen, that's Princess Anne.
    – Martin Bonner
    yesterday










  • I take it back. You are quite right.
    – Martin Bonner
    yesterday






  • 4




    It is an old photo of Queen Elizabeth II. Possibly from the late 1960s or 70s
    – Mari-Lou A
    yesterday






  • 14




    I don't think this should be a comment, it's actually the correct answer where the accepted one has missed the point. It would be better if you could fully expand it to include the relevant points from chasly's answer.
    – Jack Aidley
    yesterday















up vote
36
down vote













chasly from UK's answer is correct, I think what the author is really trying to get across is that they're posh, or at least dress that way. A gin and tonic is a popular enough drink with all classes of England now, but if you look like your drink of choice is a G&T then your are definitely not working class.



The picture included in the discussion of the word horsey is of the Queen, I think that's a great choice of picture. It can also mean is interested in horses generally, but I don't think it does in this context.



This is only an answer not a comment as I don't have the reputation.






share|improve this answer










New contributor




user324066 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.














  • 1




    That's not the Queen, that's Princess Anne.
    – Martin Bonner
    yesterday










  • I take it back. You are quite right.
    – Martin Bonner
    yesterday






  • 4




    It is an old photo of Queen Elizabeth II. Possibly from the late 1960s or 70s
    – Mari-Lou A
    yesterday






  • 14




    I don't think this should be a comment, it's actually the correct answer where the accepted one has missed the point. It would be better if you could fully expand it to include the relevant points from chasly's answer.
    – Jack Aidley
    yesterday













up vote
36
down vote










up vote
36
down vote









chasly from UK's answer is correct, I think what the author is really trying to get across is that they're posh, or at least dress that way. A gin and tonic is a popular enough drink with all classes of England now, but if you look like your drink of choice is a G&T then your are definitely not working class.



The picture included in the discussion of the word horsey is of the Queen, I think that's a great choice of picture. It can also mean is interested in horses generally, but I don't think it does in this context.



This is only an answer not a comment as I don't have the reputation.






share|improve this answer










New contributor




user324066 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.









chasly from UK's answer is correct, I think what the author is really trying to get across is that they're posh, or at least dress that way. A gin and tonic is a popular enough drink with all classes of England now, but if you look like your drink of choice is a G&T then your are definitely not working class.



The picture included in the discussion of the word horsey is of the Queen, I think that's a great choice of picture. It can also mean is interested in horses generally, but I don't think it does in this context.



This is only an answer not a comment as I don't have the reputation.







share|improve this answer










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user324066 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer








edited 23 hours ago









yoozer8

6,76073978




6,76073978






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answered yesterday









user324066

29113




29113




New contributor




user324066 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.





New contributor





user324066 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.






user324066 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.








  • 1




    That's not the Queen, that's Princess Anne.
    – Martin Bonner
    yesterday










  • I take it back. You are quite right.
    – Martin Bonner
    yesterday






  • 4




    It is an old photo of Queen Elizabeth II. Possibly from the late 1960s or 70s
    – Mari-Lou A
    yesterday






  • 14




    I don't think this should be a comment, it's actually the correct answer where the accepted one has missed the point. It would be better if you could fully expand it to include the relevant points from chasly's answer.
    – Jack Aidley
    yesterday














  • 1




    That's not the Queen, that's Princess Anne.
    – Martin Bonner
    yesterday










  • I take it back. You are quite right.
    – Martin Bonner
    yesterday






  • 4




    It is an old photo of Queen Elizabeth II. Possibly from the late 1960s or 70s
    – Mari-Lou A
    yesterday






  • 14




    I don't think this should be a comment, it's actually the correct answer where the accepted one has missed the point. It would be better if you could fully expand it to include the relevant points from chasly's answer.
    – Jack Aidley
    yesterday








1




1




That's not the Queen, that's Princess Anne.
– Martin Bonner
yesterday




That's not the Queen, that's Princess Anne.
– Martin Bonner
yesterday












I take it back. You are quite right.
– Martin Bonner
yesterday




I take it back. You are quite right.
– Martin Bonner
yesterday




4




4




It is an old photo of Queen Elizabeth II. Possibly from the late 1960s or 70s
– Mari-Lou A
yesterday




It is an old photo of Queen Elizabeth II. Possibly from the late 1960s or 70s
– Mari-Lou A
yesterday




14




14




I don't think this should be a comment, it's actually the correct answer where the accepted one has missed the point. It would be better if you could fully expand it to include the relevant points from chasly's answer.
– Jack Aidley
yesterday




I don't think this should be a comment, it's actually the correct answer where the accepted one has missed the point. It would be better if you could fully expand it to include the relevant points from chasly's answer.
– Jack Aidley
yesterday










up vote
16
down vote













To add an answer about the gloves:



Back in the 1950s/60s, gloves with (especially tan-coloured) leather palms were a fashionable accessory for drivers of sports cars and similar vehicles (and those aspiring to them).



(Practical too, providing warmth and grip, in the days before effective heating and padded leather steering wheels.)



Thus they would be an indicator of a similar class of person to the G&T drinker - affluent middle-class, or ostentatiously pretending to be such.






share|improve this answer

















  • 1




    They were known as the "Gin & Jag Brigade." The drink 'must' match the car.
    – Tetsujin
    9 hours ago












  • The fact that the mother merely "accessorizes" with a horsey headscarf indicates to me that they aren't real country toffs. They might still be upper (middle) class, but if so definitely more of the metropolitan sort.
    – AkselA
    7 hours ago















up vote
16
down vote













To add an answer about the gloves:



Back in the 1950s/60s, gloves with (especially tan-coloured) leather palms were a fashionable accessory for drivers of sports cars and similar vehicles (and those aspiring to them).



(Practical too, providing warmth and grip, in the days before effective heating and padded leather steering wheels.)



Thus they would be an indicator of a similar class of person to the G&T drinker - affluent middle-class, or ostentatiously pretending to be such.






share|improve this answer

















  • 1




    They were known as the "Gin & Jag Brigade." The drink 'must' match the car.
    – Tetsujin
    9 hours ago












  • The fact that the mother merely "accessorizes" with a horsey headscarf indicates to me that they aren't real country toffs. They might still be upper (middle) class, but if so definitely more of the metropolitan sort.
    – AkselA
    7 hours ago













up vote
16
down vote










up vote
16
down vote









To add an answer about the gloves:



Back in the 1950s/60s, gloves with (especially tan-coloured) leather palms were a fashionable accessory for drivers of sports cars and similar vehicles (and those aspiring to them).



(Practical too, providing warmth and grip, in the days before effective heating and padded leather steering wheels.)



Thus they would be an indicator of a similar class of person to the G&T drinker - affluent middle-class, or ostentatiously pretending to be such.






share|improve this answer












To add an answer about the gloves:



Back in the 1950s/60s, gloves with (especially tan-coloured) leather palms were a fashionable accessory for drivers of sports cars and similar vehicles (and those aspiring to them).



(Practical too, providing warmth and grip, in the days before effective heating and padded leather steering wheels.)



Thus they would be an indicator of a similar class of person to the G&T drinker - affluent middle-class, or ostentatiously pretending to be such.







share|improve this answer












share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered yesterday









DavidR

2,604910




2,604910








  • 1




    They were known as the "Gin & Jag Brigade." The drink 'must' match the car.
    – Tetsujin
    9 hours ago












  • The fact that the mother merely "accessorizes" with a horsey headscarf indicates to me that they aren't real country toffs. They might still be upper (middle) class, but if so definitely more of the metropolitan sort.
    – AkselA
    7 hours ago














  • 1




    They were known as the "Gin & Jag Brigade." The drink 'must' match the car.
    – Tetsujin
    9 hours ago












  • The fact that the mother merely "accessorizes" with a horsey headscarf indicates to me that they aren't real country toffs. They might still be upper (middle) class, but if so definitely more of the metropolitan sort.
    – AkselA
    7 hours ago








1




1




They were known as the "Gin & Jag Brigade." The drink 'must' match the car.
– Tetsujin
9 hours ago






They were known as the "Gin & Jag Brigade." The drink 'must' match the car.
– Tetsujin
9 hours ago














The fact that the mother merely "accessorizes" with a horsey headscarf indicates to me that they aren't real country toffs. They might still be upper (middle) class, but if so definitely more of the metropolitan sort.
– AkselA
7 hours ago




The fact that the mother merely "accessorizes" with a horsey headscarf indicates to me that they aren't real country toffs. They might still be upper (middle) class, but if so definitely more of the metropolitan sort.
– AkselA
7 hours ago










up vote
5
down vote













To add an answer about the gin:



Gin has a long history and so it is not surprising they its social status had varied considerably. In British culture the biggest change was when what had previously been cheap alcohol for working-class Londoners became fashionable amongst British Army officers in India. They had been encouraged to consume quinine as an anti-malarial drug and this was made more palatable by making it into tonic water. It was found that gin made this even more palatable and soon replaced whisky and brandy.



I see from Wikipedia that G&T (as it is often referred to in the UK) is a cocktail. However no one thinks of it like this in the UK. It is just the normal way to serve gin.



All the references in the quote in the question plant us firmly in the 60s-70s-80s. At the time a particular sort of person would have had a particular sort of drink. Since then there had been a gradual trend against stereotypical drinking towards people simply drinking what they like so a drink choice says much less about someone then it used to.






share|improve this answer





















  • If there has been a trend towards drinking what you like I would have thought that a drink choice now says more about someone than it used to, not less. Or am I misunderstanding your point?
    – skomisa
    9 hours ago










  • @skomisa - quite the inverse; it now says absolutely nothing. People used to drink what they were expected to drink, to conform to their [perceived] social status.
    – Tetsujin
    9 hours ago















up vote
5
down vote













To add an answer about the gin:



Gin has a long history and so it is not surprising they its social status had varied considerably. In British culture the biggest change was when what had previously been cheap alcohol for working-class Londoners became fashionable amongst British Army officers in India. They had been encouraged to consume quinine as an anti-malarial drug and this was made more palatable by making it into tonic water. It was found that gin made this even more palatable and soon replaced whisky and brandy.



I see from Wikipedia that G&T (as it is often referred to in the UK) is a cocktail. However no one thinks of it like this in the UK. It is just the normal way to serve gin.



All the references in the quote in the question plant us firmly in the 60s-70s-80s. At the time a particular sort of person would have had a particular sort of drink. Since then there had been a gradual trend against stereotypical drinking towards people simply drinking what they like so a drink choice says much less about someone then it used to.






share|improve this answer





















  • If there has been a trend towards drinking what you like I would have thought that a drink choice now says more about someone than it used to, not less. Or am I misunderstanding your point?
    – skomisa
    9 hours ago










  • @skomisa - quite the inverse; it now says absolutely nothing. People used to drink what they were expected to drink, to conform to their [perceived] social status.
    – Tetsujin
    9 hours ago













up vote
5
down vote










up vote
5
down vote









To add an answer about the gin:



Gin has a long history and so it is not surprising they its social status had varied considerably. In British culture the biggest change was when what had previously been cheap alcohol for working-class Londoners became fashionable amongst British Army officers in India. They had been encouraged to consume quinine as an anti-malarial drug and this was made more palatable by making it into tonic water. It was found that gin made this even more palatable and soon replaced whisky and brandy.



I see from Wikipedia that G&T (as it is often referred to in the UK) is a cocktail. However no one thinks of it like this in the UK. It is just the normal way to serve gin.



All the references in the quote in the question plant us firmly in the 60s-70s-80s. At the time a particular sort of person would have had a particular sort of drink. Since then there had been a gradual trend against stereotypical drinking towards people simply drinking what they like so a drink choice says much less about someone then it used to.






share|improve this answer












To add an answer about the gin:



Gin has a long history and so it is not surprising they its social status had varied considerably. In British culture the biggest change was when what had previously been cheap alcohol for working-class Londoners became fashionable amongst British Army officers in India. They had been encouraged to consume quinine as an anti-malarial drug and this was made more palatable by making it into tonic water. It was found that gin made this even more palatable and soon replaced whisky and brandy.



I see from Wikipedia that G&T (as it is often referred to in the UK) is a cocktail. However no one thinks of it like this in the UK. It is just the normal way to serve gin.



All the references in the quote in the question plant us firmly in the 60s-70s-80s. At the time a particular sort of person would have had a particular sort of drink. Since then there had been a gradual trend against stereotypical drinking towards people simply drinking what they like so a drink choice says much less about someone then it used to.







share|improve this answer












share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered yesterday









David Robinson

1,404213




1,404213












  • If there has been a trend towards drinking what you like I would have thought that a drink choice now says more about someone than it used to, not less. Or am I misunderstanding your point?
    – skomisa
    9 hours ago










  • @skomisa - quite the inverse; it now says absolutely nothing. People used to drink what they were expected to drink, to conform to their [perceived] social status.
    – Tetsujin
    9 hours ago


















  • If there has been a trend towards drinking what you like I would have thought that a drink choice now says more about someone than it used to, not less. Or am I misunderstanding your point?
    – skomisa
    9 hours ago










  • @skomisa - quite the inverse; it now says absolutely nothing. People used to drink what they were expected to drink, to conform to their [perceived] social status.
    – Tetsujin
    9 hours ago
















If there has been a trend towards drinking what you like I would have thought that a drink choice now says more about someone than it used to, not less. Or am I misunderstanding your point?
– skomisa
9 hours ago




If there has been a trend towards drinking what you like I would have thought that a drink choice now says more about someone than it used to, not less. Or am I misunderstanding your point?
– skomisa
9 hours ago












@skomisa - quite the inverse; it now says absolutely nothing. People used to drink what they were expected to drink, to conform to their [perceived] social status.
– Tetsujin
9 hours ago




@skomisa - quite the inverse; it now says absolutely nothing. People used to drink what they were expected to drink, to conform to their [perceived] social status.
– Tetsujin
9 hours ago










up vote
2
down vote













Some of the other answers have made headway, as regards the definition of 'mine's a G&T', but the entire point of the quote is really to define this couple in a single sentence.



They are both middle-class, from a time when that was 'more important' to be recognised as such than it is today.



He has gloves which suggest he drove a sports car or Jaguar*, which would define his drink as G&T rather than beer. Her mode of dress would be appropriate to that & a weekend at the horse trials.



It defines an entire class & culture from (probably) the 50s/60s in one sentence.



Below is a comment on the outmoded class-structure in the UK at the time, not my personal opinion...

*This would make him one of the class defined by those not belonging to it as 'The Gin & Jag Brigade'. It was a derogatory description, usually used by those who would prefer beer, even if they could afford the car.



'Horsey' describes the type of person who would attend gymkhanas & horse trials & describes the kind of attire one would wear to those... but (if it were not the author talking about her own mother, but a general perception of those times) could be a double 'attack/criticism' on not only the social class of the woman, but also her (alluded to) visual appearance. Large-framed, broad-hipped, long-faced; similar appearance to the horse she is accustomed to riding, or did in her youth.

Note that even in these times, the description 'horsey' wouldn't ordinarily be applied to someone with merely the physical appearance mentioned above - it would have to go hand-in-hand with the social definition.



Refs for 'the Gin & Jag Brigade'.

I can't find a dictionary definition as yet, but a couple of newspaper reports using it in such a way that it's obvious they fully expect their readership to already be well-aware of the term.



The Telegraph - They can't mean us



The Guardian - Town bristles at 'gin and Jag' slur



Urban Dictionary has a non-authoritive definition



Also... Ask Andy About Clothes but please take your social-responsibility-for-the-easily-offended hard-hat with you to this one, which is full of 'colourful' explanations - though technically just about SFW (safe for work).






share|improve this answer























  • Good answer until I reached the "horsey" bit. I don't think a daughter, it's in the quoted text, would every describe their mother as looking horsey. It would be strange for a daughter to attack and criticise the social class of her very own parents, as she most likely belongs to the same bourgeois or a little higher: the upper-middle class
    – Mari-Lou A
    9 hours ago










  • You're very probably right;) - at the end I swapped from 'the author' to 'general commentary' on how this would probably be perceived at the time.
    – Tetsujin
    9 hours ago










  • @Mari-LouA - re-cast, hopefully in a better light.
    – Tetsujin
    9 hours ago










  • I can't find a definition, as such, but it's deeply-embedded in the culture. I found a couple of newspaper reports that use it expecting their readership to know exactly what it means already.
    – Tetsujin
    8 hours ago






  • 1




    btw, square brackets are because I can't easily reach the rounded ones, fingers not so good as they used to be.
    – Tetsujin
    8 hours ago















up vote
2
down vote













Some of the other answers have made headway, as regards the definition of 'mine's a G&T', but the entire point of the quote is really to define this couple in a single sentence.



They are both middle-class, from a time when that was 'more important' to be recognised as such than it is today.



He has gloves which suggest he drove a sports car or Jaguar*, which would define his drink as G&T rather than beer. Her mode of dress would be appropriate to that & a weekend at the horse trials.



It defines an entire class & culture from (probably) the 50s/60s in one sentence.



Below is a comment on the outmoded class-structure in the UK at the time, not my personal opinion...

*This would make him one of the class defined by those not belonging to it as 'The Gin & Jag Brigade'. It was a derogatory description, usually used by those who would prefer beer, even if they could afford the car.



'Horsey' describes the type of person who would attend gymkhanas & horse trials & describes the kind of attire one would wear to those... but (if it were not the author talking about her own mother, but a general perception of those times) could be a double 'attack/criticism' on not only the social class of the woman, but also her (alluded to) visual appearance. Large-framed, broad-hipped, long-faced; similar appearance to the horse she is accustomed to riding, or did in her youth.

Note that even in these times, the description 'horsey' wouldn't ordinarily be applied to someone with merely the physical appearance mentioned above - it would have to go hand-in-hand with the social definition.



Refs for 'the Gin & Jag Brigade'.

I can't find a dictionary definition as yet, but a couple of newspaper reports using it in such a way that it's obvious they fully expect their readership to already be well-aware of the term.



The Telegraph - They can't mean us



The Guardian - Town bristles at 'gin and Jag' slur



Urban Dictionary has a non-authoritive definition



Also... Ask Andy About Clothes but please take your social-responsibility-for-the-easily-offended hard-hat with you to this one, which is full of 'colourful' explanations - though technically just about SFW (safe for work).






share|improve this answer























  • Good answer until I reached the "horsey" bit. I don't think a daughter, it's in the quoted text, would every describe their mother as looking horsey. It would be strange for a daughter to attack and criticise the social class of her very own parents, as she most likely belongs to the same bourgeois or a little higher: the upper-middle class
    – Mari-Lou A
    9 hours ago










  • You're very probably right;) - at the end I swapped from 'the author' to 'general commentary' on how this would probably be perceived at the time.
    – Tetsujin
    9 hours ago










  • @Mari-LouA - re-cast, hopefully in a better light.
    – Tetsujin
    9 hours ago










  • I can't find a definition, as such, but it's deeply-embedded in the culture. I found a couple of newspaper reports that use it expecting their readership to know exactly what it means already.
    – Tetsujin
    8 hours ago






  • 1




    btw, square brackets are because I can't easily reach the rounded ones, fingers not so good as they used to be.
    – Tetsujin
    8 hours ago













up vote
2
down vote










up vote
2
down vote









Some of the other answers have made headway, as regards the definition of 'mine's a G&T', but the entire point of the quote is really to define this couple in a single sentence.



They are both middle-class, from a time when that was 'more important' to be recognised as such than it is today.



He has gloves which suggest he drove a sports car or Jaguar*, which would define his drink as G&T rather than beer. Her mode of dress would be appropriate to that & a weekend at the horse trials.



It defines an entire class & culture from (probably) the 50s/60s in one sentence.



Below is a comment on the outmoded class-structure in the UK at the time, not my personal opinion...

*This would make him one of the class defined by those not belonging to it as 'The Gin & Jag Brigade'. It was a derogatory description, usually used by those who would prefer beer, even if they could afford the car.



'Horsey' describes the type of person who would attend gymkhanas & horse trials & describes the kind of attire one would wear to those... but (if it were not the author talking about her own mother, but a general perception of those times) could be a double 'attack/criticism' on not only the social class of the woman, but also her (alluded to) visual appearance. Large-framed, broad-hipped, long-faced; similar appearance to the horse she is accustomed to riding, or did in her youth.

Note that even in these times, the description 'horsey' wouldn't ordinarily be applied to someone with merely the physical appearance mentioned above - it would have to go hand-in-hand with the social definition.



Refs for 'the Gin & Jag Brigade'.

I can't find a dictionary definition as yet, but a couple of newspaper reports using it in such a way that it's obvious they fully expect their readership to already be well-aware of the term.



The Telegraph - They can't mean us



The Guardian - Town bristles at 'gin and Jag' slur



Urban Dictionary has a non-authoritive definition



Also... Ask Andy About Clothes but please take your social-responsibility-for-the-easily-offended hard-hat with you to this one, which is full of 'colourful' explanations - though technically just about SFW (safe for work).






share|improve this answer














Some of the other answers have made headway, as regards the definition of 'mine's a G&T', but the entire point of the quote is really to define this couple in a single sentence.



They are both middle-class, from a time when that was 'more important' to be recognised as such than it is today.



He has gloves which suggest he drove a sports car or Jaguar*, which would define his drink as G&T rather than beer. Her mode of dress would be appropriate to that & a weekend at the horse trials.



It defines an entire class & culture from (probably) the 50s/60s in one sentence.



Below is a comment on the outmoded class-structure in the UK at the time, not my personal opinion...

*This would make him one of the class defined by those not belonging to it as 'The Gin & Jag Brigade'. It was a derogatory description, usually used by those who would prefer beer, even if they could afford the car.



'Horsey' describes the type of person who would attend gymkhanas & horse trials & describes the kind of attire one would wear to those... but (if it were not the author talking about her own mother, but a general perception of those times) could be a double 'attack/criticism' on not only the social class of the woman, but also her (alluded to) visual appearance. Large-framed, broad-hipped, long-faced; similar appearance to the horse she is accustomed to riding, or did in her youth.

Note that even in these times, the description 'horsey' wouldn't ordinarily be applied to someone with merely the physical appearance mentioned above - it would have to go hand-in-hand with the social definition.



Refs for 'the Gin & Jag Brigade'.

I can't find a dictionary definition as yet, but a couple of newspaper reports using it in such a way that it's obvious they fully expect their readership to already be well-aware of the term.



The Telegraph - They can't mean us



The Guardian - Town bristles at 'gin and Jag' slur



Urban Dictionary has a non-authoritive definition



Also... Ask Andy About Clothes but please take your social-responsibility-for-the-easily-offended hard-hat with you to this one, which is full of 'colourful' explanations - though technically just about SFW (safe for work).







share|improve this answer














share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer








edited 8 hours ago

























answered 9 hours ago









Tetsujin

1507




1507












  • Good answer until I reached the "horsey" bit. I don't think a daughter, it's in the quoted text, would every describe their mother as looking horsey. It would be strange for a daughter to attack and criticise the social class of her very own parents, as she most likely belongs to the same bourgeois or a little higher: the upper-middle class
    – Mari-Lou A
    9 hours ago










  • You're very probably right;) - at the end I swapped from 'the author' to 'general commentary' on how this would probably be perceived at the time.
    – Tetsujin
    9 hours ago










  • @Mari-LouA - re-cast, hopefully in a better light.
    – Tetsujin
    9 hours ago










  • I can't find a definition, as such, but it's deeply-embedded in the culture. I found a couple of newspaper reports that use it expecting their readership to know exactly what it means already.
    – Tetsujin
    8 hours ago






  • 1




    btw, square brackets are because I can't easily reach the rounded ones, fingers not so good as they used to be.
    – Tetsujin
    8 hours ago


















  • Good answer until I reached the "horsey" bit. I don't think a daughter, it's in the quoted text, would every describe their mother as looking horsey. It would be strange for a daughter to attack and criticise the social class of her very own parents, as she most likely belongs to the same bourgeois or a little higher: the upper-middle class
    – Mari-Lou A
    9 hours ago










  • You're very probably right;) - at the end I swapped from 'the author' to 'general commentary' on how this would probably be perceived at the time.
    – Tetsujin
    9 hours ago










  • @Mari-LouA - re-cast, hopefully in a better light.
    – Tetsujin
    9 hours ago










  • I can't find a definition, as such, but it's deeply-embedded in the culture. I found a couple of newspaper reports that use it expecting their readership to know exactly what it means already.
    – Tetsujin
    8 hours ago






  • 1




    btw, square brackets are because I can't easily reach the rounded ones, fingers not so good as they used to be.
    – Tetsujin
    8 hours ago
















Good answer until I reached the "horsey" bit. I don't think a daughter, it's in the quoted text, would every describe their mother as looking horsey. It would be strange for a daughter to attack and criticise the social class of her very own parents, as she most likely belongs to the same bourgeois or a little higher: the upper-middle class
– Mari-Lou A
9 hours ago




Good answer until I reached the "horsey" bit. I don't think a daughter, it's in the quoted text, would every describe their mother as looking horsey. It would be strange for a daughter to attack and criticise the social class of her very own parents, as she most likely belongs to the same bourgeois or a little higher: the upper-middle class
– Mari-Lou A
9 hours ago












You're very probably right;) - at the end I swapped from 'the author' to 'general commentary' on how this would probably be perceived at the time.
– Tetsujin
9 hours ago




You're very probably right;) - at the end I swapped from 'the author' to 'general commentary' on how this would probably be perceived at the time.
– Tetsujin
9 hours ago












@Mari-LouA - re-cast, hopefully in a better light.
– Tetsujin
9 hours ago




@Mari-LouA - re-cast, hopefully in a better light.
– Tetsujin
9 hours ago












I can't find a definition, as such, but it's deeply-embedded in the culture. I found a couple of newspaper reports that use it expecting their readership to know exactly what it means already.
– Tetsujin
8 hours ago




I can't find a definition, as such, but it's deeply-embedded in the culture. I found a couple of newspaper reports that use it expecting their readership to know exactly what it means already.
– Tetsujin
8 hours ago




1




1




btw, square brackets are because I can't easily reach the rounded ones, fingers not so good as they used to be.
– Tetsujin
8 hours ago




btw, square brackets are because I can't easily reach the rounded ones, fingers not so good as they used to be.
– Tetsujin
8 hours ago










up vote
1
down vote













Literal answer



In a social setting, it is common to ask people what they are drinking. If there is a group of people, a conversation may go:



"What are you drinking?"



"Beer, and yourself?"



"Mine's a gin and tonic."



Where "mine's" is short for "my drink is".



Why is this in your book



Richard Boston was a politically comedic journalist (akin to Mark Twain or Gary Trudue) who was born in London in 1938. He wrote a beer column which highlighted local/small breweries rather than the big names. This made him popular with the brewers, but he had a secret, he didn't like beer. When they would ask him what beer he was drinking, his reply was "mine's a pink gin." Wikipedia



Pink gin is simply another type of gin, which can be mixed with tonic.



I do not know why the phrase has been changed from the quote. There is another article that quotes him as saying "mine's a gin and tonic" directly: click



I do believe this meaning gives a more nuanced description of the character.



Horsey



As said in other answers, "horsey" is a description of someone who enjoys the less labor intensive aspects of owning a horse.






share|improve this answer





















  • Note "a pink gin" at the time was not another type of gin - it was gin with Angostura Bitters (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angostura_bitters) - a good bar tender would ask the customer if they liked it "in or out" - i.e. a few drops of the bitters left in the glass or swilled around the glass then discarded. In recent years there has been a trend for flavored gins some pink but this was not what he was asking for in the quote.
    – Steve Barnes
    1 min ago















up vote
1
down vote













Literal answer



In a social setting, it is common to ask people what they are drinking. If there is a group of people, a conversation may go:



"What are you drinking?"



"Beer, and yourself?"



"Mine's a gin and tonic."



Where "mine's" is short for "my drink is".



Why is this in your book



Richard Boston was a politically comedic journalist (akin to Mark Twain or Gary Trudue) who was born in London in 1938. He wrote a beer column which highlighted local/small breweries rather than the big names. This made him popular with the brewers, but he had a secret, he didn't like beer. When they would ask him what beer he was drinking, his reply was "mine's a pink gin." Wikipedia



Pink gin is simply another type of gin, which can be mixed with tonic.



I do not know why the phrase has been changed from the quote. There is another article that quotes him as saying "mine's a gin and tonic" directly: click



I do believe this meaning gives a more nuanced description of the character.



Horsey



As said in other answers, "horsey" is a description of someone who enjoys the less labor intensive aspects of owning a horse.






share|improve this answer





















  • Note "a pink gin" at the time was not another type of gin - it was gin with Angostura Bitters (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angostura_bitters) - a good bar tender would ask the customer if they liked it "in or out" - i.e. a few drops of the bitters left in the glass or swilled around the glass then discarded. In recent years there has been a trend for flavored gins some pink but this was not what he was asking for in the quote.
    – Steve Barnes
    1 min ago













up vote
1
down vote










up vote
1
down vote









Literal answer



In a social setting, it is common to ask people what they are drinking. If there is a group of people, a conversation may go:



"What are you drinking?"



"Beer, and yourself?"



"Mine's a gin and tonic."



Where "mine's" is short for "my drink is".



Why is this in your book



Richard Boston was a politically comedic journalist (akin to Mark Twain or Gary Trudue) who was born in London in 1938. He wrote a beer column which highlighted local/small breweries rather than the big names. This made him popular with the brewers, but he had a secret, he didn't like beer. When they would ask him what beer he was drinking, his reply was "mine's a pink gin." Wikipedia



Pink gin is simply another type of gin, which can be mixed with tonic.



I do not know why the phrase has been changed from the quote. There is another article that quotes him as saying "mine's a gin and tonic" directly: click



I do believe this meaning gives a more nuanced description of the character.



Horsey



As said in other answers, "horsey" is a description of someone who enjoys the less labor intensive aspects of owning a horse.






share|improve this answer












Literal answer



In a social setting, it is common to ask people what they are drinking. If there is a group of people, a conversation may go:



"What are you drinking?"



"Beer, and yourself?"



"Mine's a gin and tonic."



Where "mine's" is short for "my drink is".



Why is this in your book



Richard Boston was a politically comedic journalist (akin to Mark Twain or Gary Trudue) who was born in London in 1938. He wrote a beer column which highlighted local/small breweries rather than the big names. This made him popular with the brewers, but he had a secret, he didn't like beer. When they would ask him what beer he was drinking, his reply was "mine's a pink gin." Wikipedia



Pink gin is simply another type of gin, which can be mixed with tonic.



I do not know why the phrase has been changed from the quote. There is another article that quotes him as saying "mine's a gin and tonic" directly: click



I do believe this meaning gives a more nuanced description of the character.



Horsey



As said in other answers, "horsey" is a description of someone who enjoys the less labor intensive aspects of owning a horse.







share|improve this answer












share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered 13 hours ago









Carl

1568




1568












  • Note "a pink gin" at the time was not another type of gin - it was gin with Angostura Bitters (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angostura_bitters) - a good bar tender would ask the customer if they liked it "in or out" - i.e. a few drops of the bitters left in the glass or swilled around the glass then discarded. In recent years there has been a trend for flavored gins some pink but this was not what he was asking for in the quote.
    – Steve Barnes
    1 min ago


















  • Note "a pink gin" at the time was not another type of gin - it was gin with Angostura Bitters (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angostura_bitters) - a good bar tender would ask the customer if they liked it "in or out" - i.e. a few drops of the bitters left in the glass or swilled around the glass then discarded. In recent years there has been a trend for flavored gins some pink but this was not what he was asking for in the quote.
    – Steve Barnes
    1 min ago
















Note "a pink gin" at the time was not another type of gin - it was gin with Angostura Bitters (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angostura_bitters) - a good bar tender would ask the customer if they liked it "in or out" - i.e. a few drops of the bitters left in the glass or swilled around the glass then discarded. In recent years there has been a trend for flavored gins some pink but this was not what he was asking for in the quote.
– Steve Barnes
1 min ago




Note "a pink gin" at the time was not another type of gin - it was gin with Angostura Bitters (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angostura_bitters) - a good bar tender would ask the customer if they liked it "in or out" - i.e. a few drops of the bitters left in the glass or swilled around the glass then discarded. In recent years there has been a trend for flavored gins some pink but this was not what he was asking for in the quote.
– Steve Barnes
1 min ago










up vote
-2
down vote













I don't fully agree with chasly from UK. Obviously, horsey is an adjective here, and has nothing to do with 'upper-class' according to wiktionary.






share|improve this answer





















  • Wiktionary doesn't mention anything about context or connotations. It limits itself to providing a definition. The father wore driving gloves, the mother wore headscarves, and clothes from an expensive retailer, there are enough clues here to give us a good general picture of their financial situation.
    – Mari-Lou A
    6 hours ago

















up vote
-2
down vote













I don't fully agree with chasly from UK. Obviously, horsey is an adjective here, and has nothing to do with 'upper-class' according to wiktionary.






share|improve this answer





















  • Wiktionary doesn't mention anything about context or connotations. It limits itself to providing a definition. The father wore driving gloves, the mother wore headscarves, and clothes from an expensive retailer, there are enough clues here to give us a good general picture of their financial situation.
    – Mari-Lou A
    6 hours ago















up vote
-2
down vote










up vote
-2
down vote









I don't fully agree with chasly from UK. Obviously, horsey is an adjective here, and has nothing to do with 'upper-class' according to wiktionary.






share|improve this answer












I don't fully agree with chasly from UK. Obviously, horsey is an adjective here, and has nothing to do with 'upper-class' according to wiktionary.







share|improve this answer












share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered 7 hours ago









Ngui Siautien

11




11












  • Wiktionary doesn't mention anything about context or connotations. It limits itself to providing a definition. The father wore driving gloves, the mother wore headscarves, and clothes from an expensive retailer, there are enough clues here to give us a good general picture of their financial situation.
    – Mari-Lou A
    6 hours ago




















  • Wiktionary doesn't mention anything about context or connotations. It limits itself to providing a definition. The father wore driving gloves, the mother wore headscarves, and clothes from an expensive retailer, there are enough clues here to give us a good general picture of their financial situation.
    – Mari-Lou A
    6 hours ago


















Wiktionary doesn't mention anything about context or connotations. It limits itself to providing a definition. The father wore driving gloves, the mother wore headscarves, and clothes from an expensive retailer, there are enough clues here to give us a good general picture of their financial situation.
– Mari-Lou A
6 hours ago






Wiktionary doesn't mention anything about context or connotations. It limits itself to providing a definition. The father wore driving gloves, the mother wore headscarves, and clothes from an expensive retailer, there are enough clues here to give us a good general picture of their financial situation.
– Mari-Lou A
6 hours ago




















 

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