->TitleEditor at 04:27, 19 October 2021

2021-10-19T04:27:30Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:57, 19 October 2021
Line 1:		Line 1:
			{{Short description\|Slang term for British service people}}
	'''Pukka sahib''' ({{IPAc-en\|ˈ\|p\|ʌ\|k\|ə\|_\|ˈ\|s\|ɑː\|(\|ɪ\|)\|b}} {{respell\|PUK\|ə\|_\|SAH(-i)b}})<ref>[[OED]].</ref> is a slang term taken from [[Hindi]] words for "Absolute" ("first class," "absolutely genuine" for [[English language\|English]] users) and "master," but meaning "true gentleman" or "excellent fellow." The expression was used in the [[British Empire]] to describe [[Europe]]ans or to describe an attitude which British administrators were said to affect, that of an "aloof, impartial, incorruptible arbiter of the political fate of a large part of the earth's surface."<ref>"Race against Time"		'''Pukka sahib''' ({{IPAc-en\|ˈ\|p\|ʌ\|k\|ə\|_\|ˈ\|s\|ɑː\|(\|ɪ\|)\|b}} {{respell\|PUK\|ə\|_\|SAH(-i)b}})<ref>[[OED]].</ref> is a slang term taken from [[Hindi]] words for "Absolute" ("first class," "absolutely genuine" for [[English language\|English]] users) and "master," but meaning "true gentleman" or "excellent fellow." The expression was used in the [[British Empire]] to describe [[Europe]]ans or to describe an attitude which British administrators were said to affect, that of an "aloof, impartial, incorruptible arbiter of the political fate of a large part of the earth's surface."<ref>"Race against Time"
	M. Freedman, ''Phylon'', 1953.</ref>		M. Freedman, ''Phylon'', 1953.</ref>
Line 5:		Line 6:

	==Occurrence in Literature==		==Occurrence in Literature==
	The term is frequently referenced in [[E. M. Forster]]'s ''[[A Passage to India]]'', and in [[Agatha Christie]]'s [[Hercule Poirot]] series as well as in ''[[Why Didn't They Ask Evans?]]'' In his anti-Empire novel ''[[Burmese Days]]'', [[George Orwell]] refers to it as a "pose," and one of his characters talks of the difficulty that goes into maintaining it. Alexandra Fuller also uses the term in her book ''Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness.'' In the 1938 film, [[The Young in Heart]], [[Roland Young]]'s character Col. Anthony Carleton, assumes the title to enable his career as a card sharp and con man. ''Flowering Wilderness'' by [[John Galsworthy]] also refers to pukka sahibs.<ref>[http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks03/0300231h.html FLOWERING WILDERNESS]</ref>		The term is frequently referenced in [[E. M. Forster]]'s ''[[A Passage to India]]'', and in [[Agatha Christie]]'s [[Hercule Poirot]] series as well as in ''[[Why Didn't They Ask Evans?]]'' In his anti-Empire novel ''[[Burmese Days]]'', [[George Orwell]] refers to it as a "pose," and one of his characters talks of the difficulty that goes into maintaining it. Alexandra Fuller also uses the term in her book ''Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness.'' In the 1938 film, [[The Young in Heart]], [[Roland Young]]'s character Col. Anthony Carleton, assumes the title to enable his career as a card sharp and con man. ''Flowering Wilderness'' by [[John Galsworthy]] also refers to pukka sahibs.<ref>[http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks03/0300231h.html FLOWERING WILDERNESS]</ref> In Nevil Shute’s “The Chequer Board”, the term is used in the manner of a backhanded compliment by those wanting Burmese independence from the British - “They’ve spent the last two years getting rid of all the pukka sahibs from the civil service as quick as they could, and then they came along and wanted me to join it. They sort of count me as a Burman now, I think.”

	==See also==		==See also==

imported>Popenda: - Category:Slang

2020-09-12T14:35:24Z

- Category:Slang

New page

'''Pukka sahib''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|ʌ|k|ə|_|ˈ|s|ɑː|(|ɪ|)|b}} {{respell|PUK|ə|_|SAH(-i)b}})<ref>[[OED]].</ref> is a slang term taken from [[Hindi]] words for "Absolute" ("first class," "absolutely genuine" for [[English language|English]] users) and "master," but meaning "true gentleman" or "excellent fellow." The expression was used in the [[British Empire]] to describe [[Europe]]ans or to describe an attitude which British administrators were said to affect, that of an "aloof, impartial, incorruptible arbiter of the political fate of a large part of the earth's surface."<ref>"Race against Time"
M. Freedman, ''Phylon'', 1953.</ref>

The word "pukka" is still used formally in twenty-first century English to describe something as "first class" or "absolutely genuine." As a slang term, it is often used by British service-people.

==Occurrence in Literature==
The term is frequently referenced in [[E. M. Forster]]'s ''[[A Passage to India]]'', and in [[Agatha Christie]]'s [[Hercule Poirot]] series as well as in ''[[Why Didn't They Ask Evans?]]'' In his anti-Empire novel ''[[Burmese Days]]'', [[George Orwell]] refers to it as a "pose," and one of his characters talks of the difficulty that goes into maintaining it. Alexandra Fuller also uses the term in her book ''Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness.'' In the 1938 film, [[The Young in Heart]], [[Roland Young]]'s character Col. Anthony Carleton, assumes the title to enable his career as a card sharp and con man. ''Flowering Wilderness'' by [[John Galsworthy]] also refers to pukka sahibs.<ref>[http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks03/0300231h.html FLOWERING WILDERNESS]</ref>

==See also==
*[[Sahib]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:British English idioms]]
[[Category:Indian slang]]
[[Category:Pakistani slang]]
[[Category:Indian English idioms]]

{{vocab-stub}}

Pukka sahib - Revision history

->TitleEditor at 04:27, 19 October 2021

imported>Popenda: - Category:Slang