The Bunny Hug
How do you describe a new dance? Do you try to recreate the visual imagery of the movements involved? Well, don’t, because a much more effective way to describe a dance without actually demonstrating it is to use the inherent power of the simile. In this example, a new dance called The Bunny Hug is being discussed:
CATHERINE: It’s like the Turkey Trot – only more dignified.
GRACE: I thought that was the tango.
DICKIE: No. More like a Fox Trot, really. Something between a Boston Glide and a Kangaroo Hop.
Good Eggs
Young Dickie there is really the only member of the family who routine speaks in metaphor. Even his use of figurative description is not broadly layered, however, as his reveals a deep penchant for the peculiarities of the slang of the period:
“Good egg! He’s a decent old stick, the old baa-lamb. I took him racing last Saturday. Had the time of his life and lost his shirt.”
The Colonel
A subplot of the story involves romancing the Winslow girl, Catherine. At the beginning, she had a suitor and seems destined for marriage, but things change significantly by the end. Which is for the best because she is ill-suited for her suitor’s family. The potential father-in-law, especially, presents a problem with her firm belief that he disapproves of her as wifely material for his son:
CATHERINE: He has a way of looking at me through his monocle that shrivels me up.
JOHN. He’s just being a colonel, darling, that’s all. All colonels look at you like that.
Idiomatic Metaphor
Idiomatic phrases from the period of time of the setting can be found in other places besides Dickie’s slang. A reporter sent to interview Mr. Winslow understands the political implications of the case and Mr. Winslow’s dedication, but her beat doesn’t cover that angle. She’s there for the family melodrama because, as she explains:
“Oh, yes. The political angle. I know. Very interesting but not quite my line of country.”
Tall in the Saddle
The verdict coming down on the side of the Winslow boy, the question turns to the issue of justice. By which is meant, of course, the Crown paying for the misery that has been caused. Although verdicts are of primal importance, of course, once won, that part of the trial is almost always a breeze compared to the issue extricating recompense, unless, of course, you have an attorney who knows how to handle the horse:
“Now, on the question of damages and costs. I fear we shall find the Admiralty rather niggardly. You are likely still to be left considerably out of pocket. However, doubtless we can apply a slight spur to the First Lord’s posterior in the House of Commons.”
