Chinny Reckon

[Batterschrist]

We took the Jimmy Hill theme slightly further and developed something known as the 'Extended Jimmy'. This involved describing an enormously long chin with your hands....and then scratching the end!

 

[CarlosTheDJ]

We took the Jimmy Hill theme slightly further and developed something known as the 'Extended Jimmy'. This involved describing an enormously long chin with your hands....and then scratching the end!

I think I've been guilty of that one too.....look I'm going to be honest here, I still do that, especially to Mrs Carlos (when she's not looking, usually and obviously).

 

[rynner2]

Searching for something else, I came upon this:

Some people believe that if you are foolish enough to stand on the cliff top between Presthope and Lutwyche Hall on Wenlock Edge, and taunt the ghost with these words: 'Ippikin, Ippikin, by your long red hair and your chinny chin chin' - the consequences could prove fatal. Ippikin, a 13th century robber knight who terrorised the locality from a cave somewhere under the Edge apparently has a habit of pushing the disrespectful over the cliffs.

:shock:

 

[GNC]

Then there's the phrase "Not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin" as implemented by the Three Little Pigs against the Wolf in the famous fairy tale.

What about the young man called Michael Finnegan? Who grew whiskers on his chinegan? Then the wind came along and blew them in again? Etc.

 

[milk23]

we had the same thing as kiddy winks but we sarcastically said 'boris' when
we did the chin thing

 

[colpepper1]

It was certainly around when I started secondary school in 1969. The phrase then was 'Sucker me' said fast and merged into the exaggeration you'd just been told with an elongated chin gesture.

 

[rynner2]

BTW, 'Keep your pecker up' means 'Keep your chin up'.

(In case anyone thought differently! )

 

[GNC]

I have a vintage sighting! A friend of mine lent me the first two series of Grange Hill to watch and in the episode I saw tonight Trisha Yates repsonded to a comment made by her sister that she regarded with cynical disbelief with a wry "Jimmy Hill" accompanied by hand to the chin gesture.

This aired in 1978, so Balderdash and Piffle-style we can date the phenomenon to at least then.

 

[escargot]

We took the Jimmy Hill theme slightly further and developed something known as the 'Extended Jimmy'. This involved describing an enormously long chin with your hands....and then scratching the end!

I think I've been guilty of that one too.....look I'm going to be honest here, I still do that, especially to Mrs Carlos (when she's not looking, usually and obviously).

We have been contemplating the best use of this sensitive information. You will be informed when a decision is reached.

 

[Prunesquallor]

In terms of narrowing (or widening) the geographical and temporal origins of the phrases, both "Chinny Reckon" and "Jimmy Hill" were in common usage in the schoolyards of rural Buckinghamshire in the early 1980's, along with the extravagant faux-beard mimes which enthusiastic chin-scracthing could turn into. We may even have combined the two in some chimeric "Jimmy Chin"-style utterance, but that could just be my memory playing tricks.
It's a good example of what Richard Dawkins would want to call a Meme, though, isn't it?

 

[AMPHIARAUS]

I seem to remember we had a local variation of "chinny chinegan" which was a sort of ultra version of a Jimmy reserved for serious disbelief / derision

 

[Prunesquallor]

I'm really curious about this now... Seriously, as a bit of informal socio-linguistics which my students will love (they like to hear me talking "old-fashioned")
What are the limits of the Chinny Reckon/ Jimmy Hill phenomenon? Can we accurately date it and place it?

As mentioned above, both "Chinny Reckon" and "Jimmy Hill" were common parlance in my neck of the woods between 1983 and 1991, but I never really heard it used after that date and don't have accurate memories from before. Can anyone vouch for its use amongst school-age children before or after this point? Can anyone from outside mainland UK recall it begin used?

 

[GNC]

As mentioned above, both "Chinny Reckon" and "Jimmy Hill" were common parlance in my neck of the woods between 1983 and 1991, but I never really heard it used after that date and don't have accurate memories from before. Can anyone vouch for its use amongst school-age children before or after this point?

Yes, 1978, see my Grange Hill post above.

Has anyone else spotted it used in the media?

 

[BeatrixKiddo]

A friend remembers the hand gesture ( the frantic chin rubbing ) but with the word TWANG!! :lol:

 

[HighAndMighty]

1978/79

chinwag, when someone has been fooled, chinny wag if disbelieving- both with chin rubbing gestures.
north staffordshire, 1978-9

 

[CHIPMUNK1974]

In the school I went to, the chin rubbing was accompanied by the phrase 'Homne homne bi-ads'.......

No idea why

 

[mrpoultice]

CHIPMUNK1974 wrote

In the school I went to, the chin rubbing was accompanied by the phrase 'Homne homne bi-ads'.......

No idea why

Was it a very posh school? Because I can't help but notice the possible Latin interpretation there.

And while on this subject I came across thishere

"The word beard for example has a couple of alternative meanings; "one who serves to divert suspicion or attention from another", and "to confront boldly". Could the name have evolved from a personality trait?"

I can't find anymore on it. But what an odd coincedence eh?

Mr P

 

[CHIPMUNK1974]

Oh my dear Mrpoultice, believe you me my school was less than posh. If I had the time I'd tell you about the dinnertime 'pennydrop' game where you would drop coins down a small dip to a fire escape and then spit on the heads of the people who ran the gauntlet to go and pick up the 5p :shock:

 

[floyd23a]

so you went to Eton then?

 

[squizita]

We used 'itchy beard' or 'jimmy hiiiiiillll' as kids. I only heard 'chinny reckon' later - but my nan used to say (like in the fairytale) 'not by the hairs on my chinny-chin-chin'. Maybe that was the source?

 

[squizita]

my favourite was "choice!" when you were told to do something you didnt want to do. the temptation to use this is still great, especially in a work/corporate environment.

shame all the above arent still in common parlance, especially in the grown-up world.

Working with kids as I do (and as my partner does) we often pepper our conversation with both our own generation's slang and the yoof's.

Oft' used phrases from our youth:
-your mum (handy reply to anything)
-jimmy hill
-hanging rough (can be just 'hanging' - meaning ugly. Applies to self when hung over)
-Chhiiieeeffffff! (basically 'you are an idiot who thinks they're great'- like the guy in the 'Pretty Fly For A White Guy' video)
-Jinxies
-Baggsies
-Mine Now!
-'Trainers off the market, innit' (that person lacks sartorial elegance)
-Spoddy!
-Sicko (not to be confused with sick!)
-beakers (meaning glasses for our eyes, not drinking glasses)

From today's yoof:
-ALLOW it!! (for 'come now, let's be reasonable')
-You got boyed (you got cussed down)
-Sick (excellent - not to be confused with sicko)

... of course this means that only a small group of my friends who are the same age, from the same part of London AND work with children/teens today have the SLIGHTEST idea what we're on about! :lol:

 

[rjmrjmrjm]

Hmm, I remember Jimmy Hill in school. I've also noticed a couple here that I recognise but not in the same context.

'Chin-Wag' is an expression (down my way at least) which means to chat or have a gossip.

'Chin-Chinagen' I believe is from the childrens rhyme: 'Michael Finnegan'

Michael Finnegan
There was an old man named Michael Finnegan,
He grew whiskers on his chin-egan,
The wind came out and blew them in again,
Poor old Michael Finnegan, begin again.

There was an old man named Michael Finnegan
He went fishing with a pin-egan,
Caught a fish and dropped it in-egan,
Poor old Michael Finnegan, begin again.

There was an old man named Michael Finnegan,
Climbed a tree and barked his shin-egan,
Took off several yards of skin-egan,
Poor old Michael Finnegan, begin again.

There was an old man named Michael Finnegan,
He kicked up an awful din-egan,
Because they said he could not sing-egan,
Poor old Michael Finnegan, begin again.

There was an old man named Michael Finnegan,
He got fat and then got thin again,
Then he died and had to begin again,
Poor old Michael Finnegan—STOP!

 

[seanex]

Chinny chin chin.

Hello. Thought I'd make this my first post.
I went to primary school in rural Gloucestershire in the mid to late eighties. The variations we had included as follows: chinny, chinner, chinny reckon, reckon, Jimmy Hill, chinny chin chin and probably more that I fail to remember. All could be accompanied by the stroking of the chin between thumb and finger. For added effect one could place one's chin in the crook of one's elbow to extend the length of the chin. It would then be the elbow that was stroked. The inclusion of chinny chin chin in that list makes me think that the origin of the phrase was the Three Little Pigs line, as mentioned by a previous poster (I forgot the name, sorry!) "Not by the hairs on my chinny chin chin".
I tried looking here which is good for this sort of thing but didn't get very far. But then they don't have achinoodle on there so you can't really call it comprehensive!

 

[HighAndMighty]

as far as i recall, the chinrub when use in the contect of "you're gullible" was aimed to draw attention to the fact that someone had been fooled. thus the extension to chinrub...chinnyrub....chinnychinchin...jimmyhill was continued for as long as possible by the chinrubber to humiliate the rubbee as much as possible to there may have been a degree of improvisation which was then picked up on by the next instance of chinrub and i would guess that this is how a lot of it developed.

so the question is: is "chinrub" the original phrase used?

as it seems to be playground oriented- was it used in the correct context in the first place?

 

[cheeky381]

I had a look for this thread after a conversation I had with a friend this week. She and I grew up roughly in the same part of south London. I told her something someone had said which me and my friend both took to be a lie at which point she frantically scratched her chin and loudly exclaimed "chinny re-ckon". I laughed my pants off as I hadn't heard that for years and we're now both in out 30's. We then had a discussion about chinny reckon and recalled how we also called it "Jimmy Hill", the "Jimmy Beardsley" and even "Peter Beardsley" (with obligatory chin scratching) or just "Beardsley". I've even heard just a shout of "Beard" at the mere hint of a lie when I was a kid which is not to be confused with the phrase "Beards" which simply means a "long while" down Sahf;

i.e. Man, I been waitin' for dis bus for beards, y'know....

 

[cheeky381]

NEWS UPDATE!

Just mentioned this thread to the husband who said that the Dagenham schoolboy version of the Chinny Reckon was to stroke the chin and say "Shrewdy" or "Shrewdy-Mac". This could also mean "I am right and you are wrong" or "I told you so".
He can't explain to me how "Shrewdy" (which would be pronounced with emphasis as "shroooodyy") is at all relevant and why this pocket of East London should have it's own unique language seemingly separate from anyone else on this board!!
:shock:

Anyone else heard of this?

 

[escargot]

Two iconic British chins.

 

[BlackPeter]

Obviously not a Central midlands thing - I have no recollection of anything like this at all!

 

[Godafoss30]

Definitely a thing in late 70s early 80s Teesside. I recall it was sometimes abbreviated to Reck On but both versions always had the emphasis on the “ON”. Jimmy Hill was spoken slowly in a mocking tone with a gap between the two consonants in Jimmy.

Weirdly, I was telling my kids about Chinny Reck-On and Jimmy Hill earlier in the week, i.e. before Escargot's post from earlier today...

 

[escargot]

Definitely a thing in late 70s early 80s Teesside. I recall it was sometimes abbreviated to Reck On but both versions always had the emphasis on the “ON”. Jimmy Hill was spoken slowly in a mocking tone with a gap between the two consonants in Jimmy.

Weirdly, I was telling my kids about Chinny Reck-On and Jimmy Hill earlier in the week, i.e. before Escargot's post from earlier today...

Chinneeeeeeee