While British people may have developed a reputation for always being well-spoken and polite, make no mistake: they can sound off expletives with the best of them.
On Wednesday, UK government spokesman Lord Keen knocked over a glass of water during his address to the House of Lords — and his reaction was so priceless that it gave Twitter cause to sit up and take notice.
Whoops pic.twitter.com/ZJAGj9QEeK
— Esther Webber (@estwebber) March 28, 2018
(This is a pretty accurate illustration of how I feel when going into work on Monday, for what it’s worth. )
Yes, that is recorded footage of a politician grumbling “Arse!” in the House of Lords.
I think a govt spokesman just knocked over a glass of water at the dispatch box in the Lords and expostulated “arse”
— Esther Webber (@estwebber) March 28, 2018
British Twitter was utterly delighted by the unexpected little nugget of brilliance.
I watched that five times..six… Ten. 12 times.
— David Deans (@DeansOfCardiff) March 28, 2018
god i love lord keen
— Daragh (@QDaragh) March 28, 2018
This could be my new ringtone. ?
— Stephen #rEUnion #FBPE #ABTV #OFOC ?????? (@TheStephenRalph) March 28, 2018
Many pondered whether or not the excerpt would be included in the Hansard transcript, otherwise known as a “verbatim report of proceedings of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords.”
And it was then that the Hansard transcriber faced a terrible choice…
— James Davies (@jamesorharry) March 28, 2018
note to self to look out for Lords Hansard tomorrow… genuinely interested to see whether/how they record it… There’ll definitely be rules about such things @woodstockjag
— Brigid Fowler (@Brigid_Fowler) March 28, 2018
Sadly, it seems like the inclusion of “arse” in the official transcript of the meeting is unlikely — but, we can all hope.
for those asking, unlikely this will get into Hansard – could be seen as involuntary expostulation and also once he’d stopped speaking from the dispatch box
— Esther Webber (@estwebber) March 28, 2018
Admittedly, this isn’t quite as magnificent as the BBC footage of Professor Robert Kelly being interrupted during an interview by his band of merry children — but, it’s still a nice reminder that even the best among us have to let the expletives fly now and again.
Although how the Brits still manage to sound so dainty while cussing, I’ll never know.