Gordon Bennett!!! bugging me

[daviees]

Im in work and someone just said:

" aww Gordan Bennett!! "

What does this mean and why do they say it?

I know this is a stupid ??? but I wanna know.

didnt want to ask him because I would feel like a right knob! lol

at least I dont know you guys!

Thanks in advance!!!

Kev

[heathfield]

One answer here.

[lovejoy]

It doesn't have anything to do with someone called Gordon Bennett

The original phrase dating from the middle ages was for people in times of tragedy:

"May god and saint Benedict preserve us"

A natural diminutive of Benedict is bennett

and so it was shortened to "god and bennet" NOT gordon bennett

The most ridiculous explanation ever given to this phrase is that it was an american flyer who used to do aerobatic tricks like flying through the open doors of a barn and coming out the other side. Pure nonsense

[Theoldsilver]

Nah you're all wrong. There was a racing cyclist of that name and one time he sped past someone exlaimed "Gordon Bennett" So I was told! LOL

[BillStickers]

daviees, why not shout out "May god and saint Benedict preserve us!!!!" the next time something surprising happens, and see if your colleague knows what you mean.

[Amber Lol]

If you Google Gordon Bennett you will get
your answer

[lovejoy]

Amber if you google Gordon Bennett you wont get the correct answer you will get the tired old cliche of the american airman which is all nonsense

[lovejoy]

Billstickers I am sure you are right that nobody would know what it meant today

This is a saying which originated in the middle ages and has got lost in time and like shakespeares famous quotation about romeo


Romeo, Romeo wherefore art thou Romeo

very few people know what it means


but the fact that the majority dont have a clue what it means doesn't make it less significant

[reachesme]

I always thought it was like Heathields link.

[Amber Lol]

No Lovejoy,it's the editor of The New York Herald
"Gordon Bennett" who sent his reporter Stanley
to Africa to find Livingstone
when he found him he uttered the immortal line
"Dr.Livingstone I presume"
However I digress it is not really proven where
the Gordon Bennett comes from.
So you can take your pick from a few different sources

[lovejoy]

Well Amber this explanation is so obviously correct what can I say other than "you cant be f****** serious

[mackdigger]

Gordon Bennett is an exclamation of contempt and disbelief. It is said to relate to the Australian General Gordon Bennett, a divisional commander serving in Malaya in World War Two.

As the Japanese army lay siege to Singapore and surrender terms by the allies began in ernest, Bennett amazingly handed over his own command to a subordinate and fled the island to safety. His actions both astounded and disgusted many of his peers and superiors. He argued that he left Singapore in order to be able pass on his skills of fighting the Japanese. His reasoning was never accepted and a post war enquiry condemned his flight from the island as unneccessary.

[welshwil]

amber is right