Thursday, May 08, 2008

To cap it all

Someone called Genevieve Maitland Hudson gets it wrong in a Guardian blog thunkpiece on the EU common agricultural policy -
These are all measures which have the concerns of the local, the regional and the environmental at heart. And, lest it be thought that the EU is all mouth and no trousers, these measures have been highly effective.

See the style guide, pet -
all mouth and trousers
not "all mouth and no trousers"

If you're complaining about the homogenisation of culturally distinctive foodstuffs, you'll make a better argument if you don't bastardise culturally distinctive language while you're at it.

Friday, April 11, 2008

Golf trousers 3

Golfer Ian Poulter makes his third appearance here, with Martin Johnson getting it right in the Telegraph:
There is no current golfer under the age of 30 who has won a major, so at 32, you could say that Poulter is ready to break through. He certainly thinks so, voicing his opinions in such a way as the MC could easily introduce him with the line "the man who is synonymous with all mouth and trousers".

So that's two usages of the right phrase in relation to Poulter, and one of the bastardised version. Given the usual ratio across the press, that's above par.

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Hanging Chad

'Harchester United Batchelor' is not a fit or proper person to own Mansfield Town, according to the uniquely named Mansfield Chad.

While I know nowt about his talents in the football business, he certainly doesn't seem like a fit person when it comes to language:
"Mr Batchelor has to date shown nothing but contempt for the supporters of football clubs. He has in the last week described supporters' organisations as "web warriors", "all mouth and no trousers", "mouthy fans" and "armchair critics".

Use of the bastardised phrase is a sure sign of a wrong 'un.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

No son of mine

Richard Morrison, of the Times, boasts:
My mother’s family lived around the coalfields of South Yorkshire.

Good for her. Sadly, young Richard later writes:
Fancy regeneration schemes – all mouth and no trousers, as my granny would have said – have delivered neither jobs nor prospects nor pride.

Presumably this granny must have been from the other, south-of-England, side of the family tree. In Yorkshire, it's 'all mouth and trousers', lad.

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Golf trousers 2

The Daily Mail gets something right for once, with sports columnist Des Kelly writing:
Ian Poulter: All mouth and trousers. The flamboyantly attired English golfer says he was misquoted when he said he was the only worthwhile challenger to Tiger Woods.

This is the second appearance here for this Poulter character, following a Scotsman profile last year that got it exactly wrong.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Tory trousers

Kevin Maguire in the Mirror gets the sentiment right but the language wrong when he writes of David Cameron:
He's all Tory mouth and no trousers.

Shame, as Cameron's a textbook definition of the actual meaningful phrase, 'all mouth and trousers'. He's often to be seen in those 'casual' focus-grouped dad jeans (anything but striped Eton trews), but the lack of substance is somewhat deeper.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Fine and dandy

Another right use from down under, with the Sydney Morning Herald writing of:
Man-about-town [Beau] Brummell, for whom the term "all mouth and trousers was surely coined"

Odd use of quotation marks, but bang-on with the usage.