in case you’re interested, i’ve included a link to an article that i found about an icon in folk music of the 60’s and 70’s. the title of the article is “sandy denny: fair play to her.”
i’ve run across the phrase “fair play to her” or just “fair play” before, but i’m not totally clear about the meaning. it seems to be a phrase used frequently by folks in the uk. i had always assumed it was a form of a high complement being paid to someone. then i came across a definition that said it means something is good but not superb. i find it hard to believe that the latter is what was meant by the article’s title in regards to sandy denny. i’m not looking for a debate on sandy denny’s music, but i would really appreciate any clarification some of our uk friends can give on the phrase “fair play to her” or “fair play” as it relates to a performance or to a performer.
thanks!
Not a high compliment at all, at all.
And it’s a very Irish expression, so it is.
Best equivalent is probably “Give him/her his/her due”. Or “…to balance negative opinion…”.
So when somebody says “Yer Man Stalin is a right auld blatherskite,” somebody else might reply “Aye, but fair play to him, he did knock seven bells out of yon German fella.”
It rings like a a snarky and begrudging acknowledgement to my ear, but that’s probably a cultural difference. I’m interested in how the UK natives perceive it.
Look here. It’s more a sort of a Hibernicism than something you find in the UK, so it seems to me anyway. The on-line Hiberno-English dictionary didn’t have an entry for it though.
the only useage of “fair play” that i was familiar with was in the context of revenge or getting even with someone. for example, “turnabout is fair play.” or simply saying, “fair play” when you hear that something rather nasty has happened to someone who may have had it coming to them (which is pretty close to my first example).
that’s one of the things i like about the average joe posting on the internet. the language used isn’t always the more formalized brand that is “usually” found in the more elite media. we all become involved in a wealth of idioms and slang expressions from around the globe that we otherwise may never have encountered. even expressions from other regions of one’s own country may be unfamiliar to the reader.
giving the general public a global soundingboard on which to publish their ideas is a great catalyst, i think, in making language more dynamic. it would be interesting, if i should live so long, to do a study of how the English language has changed following a hundred years of the internet, and compare that result with the radio, television and movie era of the 20th century, and again with the somewhat more globally isolated period of the 19th century (keeping in mind that the great migration of western europe had an impact on language dynamics, but not as much as it would have had if the immigrants hadn’t isolated themselves with others of their own culture).
not quite what i had in mind there, mister bloo. but i shall accept
that as some good-natured ribbing from a gent who undoubtedly agrees
with my premise.
After reading this thread, I noticed Paula Carroll use it during her Clare FM trad show (which, btw, you can download as MP3s via clarefm.ie – a great asset!)
When Paula said “Fair play to Owen…” she used it quite enthusiastically, to thank someone who had helped out with the previous week’s trad show. Nothing half-hearted or begrudging about the phrase, when she used it.
not quite what i had in mind there, mister bloo. but i shall accept