Robert Wyatt

A beginner’s education in how to employ the expression “Cor Blimey, Guv’nor.”

“Cor Blimey” is a late Victorian euphemism, or “minced oath,” for the words “God Blind Me.” It originated in working class English in the 1890s as a way to express surprise to people of higher class in the street without blaspheming and betraying one’s own lower class status.

“Guv’nor” is an abbreviation of “governor,” referring to someone in charge, and is rooted, as mentioned, in the speaker’s class. A working class person, say, a taxi driver, might call his clients “guv’nor” rather than “mate,” as it denotes not only that the passenger is of higher perceived class than the taxi driver, but also that the taxi driver is himself of the working classes—a middle class person would never call an upper class person “guv’nor,” but employ the words “sir,” or “madam,” or perhaps pretend to be upper class themselves (a mortal sin which in the eyes of many English should be punishable by death.)