YOUR PROBLEMS SOLVED
Dear Mary.. .
In reply to M.A. of Hong Kong, perhaps questobabble' (1 November 1997) is that which I call the 'apologetic question mark'. I attended school in Tasmania and never heard this intonation of speech in the 1930s and 1940s, now so prevalent in Australia and New Zealand but not so general among the 65s and upwards. Nev- ertheless, I've heard the same inflection of speech used by old and young alike in Angus, Scotland. I do agree with your Hong Kong correspondent, it is a most disturbing affliction.
E.R., Sunnihill, NSW My Australian mother-in-law once told me that 'questobabbling' was originally an exclusively feminine trait. Australian women were afraid to assert themselves in the presence of their menfolk for fear of contradiction or worse. So they hedged their bets by intoning even incontrovertible statements interrogatively, thus, 'You're Pill as a boot?' (translation: drunk), or, There is a bushfire close behind you?' The habit spread to the other sex and then to visiting backpackers.
R. T., clo FCO, Bridgetown A. Thank you both for your contributions to the 'questobabble' debate. Q. Please help with an urgent dilemma. I have engaged a new nanny. She has been living with us for a week and a half and I thought that everything was going smooth- ly, especially since Nanny assured me she was contented with all the arrangements. I always think it advisable, however, to take the opportunity to look through a new nanny's personal papers if one has the opportunity, and so I was horrified when I found a letter she was writing describing us as 'the family from hell' and grumbling on for a couple of pages. How can I confront her about this without admitting I looked through her desk while she was out?
Name and address withheld A. Many nannies do not mean what they say in letters. The vitriolic attacks on host families are often just a device for self- dramatisation. Nevertheless, you should grasp the nettle and tell Nanny that, while she was out, the problem son of a neigh- bour who suffers from a mild delinquency disorder went into her bedroom and brought the letter down, crowing as he read it aloud. 'Naturally, his mother made him put the letter straight back on the desk,' you can say sternly, 'but I would like to get to the bottom of this mystery of why you should have written such a letter when you told me you were perfectly happy. . . . '
Q. I wonder if you could suggest the politest way of returning to the pleasures of one's book or personal stereo after indulging in an unsustainable amount of small talk with one's neighbouring passen- ger during a long train journey.
A.C., London A. Thank you for your query. The correct procedure is to drop the book or stereo, thus causing a break in eye contact with your neighbour while you `grossle' around the floor feeling for it. By the time you resurface it will seem only natural for you to heave a regretful sigh and say, 'Oh, I suppose I'd better stop enjoying myself now and get on with what I'm supposed to be reading/listening to!'
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