Old bean

November 18th, 2008 by admin

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Posted in columns, November 2008 | 7 comments

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7 comments on this post.

  1. Victoria:

    December 16th, 2008 at 12:40 pm

    I always thought “old bean” was a play on the term human being, which is sometimes playfully mispronounced “human bean”.

  2. Isaac:

    February 26th, 2009 at 10:20 am

    In Hong Kong, it is customary for children to refer to their fathers as “Low Dow” (In Cantonese) which translates directely to “Old Bean” is it possible there is a link between the two terms, given tha

  3. Richard:

    March 20th, 2009 at 5:25 am

    Any American out there keen to expose him- or herself to an onslaught of similarly quaint and aristocratic British English slang should consult P.G. Wodehouse. I recommend ‘The Inimitable Jeeves’ as an introductory text. Wodehouse frequently uses the expression ‘old bean’ as a form of address alongside other inanimate objects such as ‘old top’ and ‘old teapot’. He also uses the word bean to mean head, or brains. One of my favourites, however, is the adjective ‘rum’ and its derivative ‘rummy’ which are used to describe something peculiar, strange or out of the ordinary. In my opinion these are all relics which should be brought back to life in everyday conversation, as they are chock solid with character, which seems to be lacking in the digital age, with its tendency to abbreviate everything to txt spk.
    Pip pip.

  4. robertfitch:

    July 16th, 2010 at 6:38 am

    richard…well put

  5. Missouri Love Company:

    August 25th, 2011 at 5:52 pm

    I remember using the expression “Old Bean” with my high school friends because I heard it used in movies. It was fun to call everyone by the first name and add Bean behind it. 20 years later, my friends see me and and call me Tina Bean. It sort of my signature.

  6. karol:

    August 31st, 2011 at 7:53 am

    Minor point. I would suggest that its quintessentialy English not British. And historically English upper class at that.

    Great Britain includes Scotland and Wales and even in bygone days I can’t imagine you would have natives of those two countries using this phrase.

  7. paquita:

    March 25th, 2013 at 10:26 pm

    Bean means woman in Gaelic – see http://www.etymonline.com – search origin of QHEEN and this info will show up. Maybe it began as an alternative to an affectionate ‘old girl’.

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