My employment barrister friend says that the law library is full of young barristers trying to give themselves additional gravitas by employing the tics of older colleagues. Then, as time goes on, they keep up the tics out of habit. She thinks it’s quite likely that some particular tics have been knocking around since the 19th century.
I look at my (currently still poxy, since you ask) girl and I can see that she uses my turn of phrase. When I say “would you like to do whatever†she doesn’t say “yes†she says “I wouldâ€. Mr. Waffle maintains that this is an Irish thing in general as there is no word for yes or no in the Irish language, Irish people tend to answer questions by repeating the verb. But this is mere quibbling. She also has the same hand gestures as me when she’s talking. This isn’t a genetic inheritance, it’s a hanging around with me inheritance, like the barristers in the law library. Meanwhile, I can hear myself turning into my mother. And I suppose that my mother is like her mother, my Nana. And I can’t tell you how pleased this realisation has made me because my Nana was fabulous and I adored her.Â