Posted by Owen Roberts on March 07, 2006 at 12:26:22 from 194.201.78.135 user OwenRoberts.
In Reply to: Re: "good and brown" - Was: clearing of rivers-olden times (was: Re: CC w/o a map posted by Ed Kiser on March 07, 2006 at 01:50:09:
I think the phrase "we've done them fairly brown" derives from that other phrase "we've fairly toasted them". In both cases meaning "we've beaten them hollow"!
This was common parlance in London schools in the 1950's. Perhaps this lends credence to the view that at least one of the Swallows went to school in this area; also slang was changing slowly at that time apart from the introduction of war time words.