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Usenet Posted 21 years ago
English in UK

"thick in the clear"

This is a dialect phrase that my English mother (Staffs/Warks) uses. It is in the context: "You sound a bit thick in the clear", when she is listening to someone who is coming down with a cold and has developed that clogged up sound in the throat.
Does anyone know the origin of this phrase? I've googled unsuccessfully.

Thanks,
Miss G.
  

Top answer

At 10:22:51 on Tue, 8 Mar 2005, Miss Grunge (Email Removed) wrote in : [nq:1]This is a dialect phrase that my English mother (Staffs/Warks) uses. It is in the context: "You sound a bit ... has developed that clogged up sound in the throat.

— Usenet

  • At 10:22:51 on Tue, 8 Mar 2005, Miss Grunge (Email Removed) wrote in : [nq:1]This is a dialect phrase that my English mother (Staffs/Warks) uses.
  • It is in the context: "You sound a bit ...
  • has developed that clogged up sound in the throat.
  • Does anyone know the origin of this phrase?
  • [/nq] My late mother-in-law (origins working-class London, adult life in Sussex) used it regularly, but I never knew where it came from.
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4 Answers
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At 10:22:51 on Tue, 8 Mar 2005, Miss Grunge
(Email Removed) wrote in :
[nq:1]This is a dialect phrase that my English mother (Staffs/Warks) uses. It is in the context: "You sound a bit ... has developed that clogged up sound in the throat. Does anyone know the origin of this phrase? I've googled unsuccessfully.[/nq]
My late mother-in-law (origins working-class London, adult life in Sus
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[nq:1]This is a dialect phrase that my English mother (Staffs/Warks) uses. It is in the context: "You sound a bit ... has developed that clogged up sound in the throat. Does anyone know the origin of this phrase? I've googled unsuccessfully.[/nq]
I don't remember having heard it. But I used to be threatened with a "thick ear" when I misbehaved.

Phil C.
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[nq:1]"You sound a bit thick in the clear", Does anyone know the origin of this phrase?[/nq]
A public inquiry has exonerated yet another politician?

Paul Burke
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[nq:1]This is a dialect phrase that my English mother (Staffs/Warks) uses. It is in the context: "You sound a bit ... has developed that clogged up sound in the throat. Does anyone know the origin of this phrase? I've googled unsuccessfully.[/nq]
Hmm ... thick and clear could it be an obscure soup reference?

Matti
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