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English language (monolingual) [PRO] Art/Literary - Slang
English term or phrase:Him Indoors
Introduction: It was a bright cold day in April when *Him Indoors* and I took a break from visiting craft breweries in Asheville and went for a beer at Wicked Weed, a local brewery famous for its sour beers and, unbeknownst to us, about to be sold to AB-In- Bev. As we sat down by the fireside outside *Him Indoors* had some sort of epiphany. Out of the blue he turned to me and said: “Susan, think this craft beer thing is no longer a niche. It’s a universe.” What could I say? When he’s right, he’s right.
Last para: Maybe I am just a spoilsport and *Him Indoors* is right. In the US, craft beer is a universe and we all know the universe keeps on expanding as we speak. No need to lose any sleep over it.
I found on the net that *Him Indoors* is a short film but I cannot open nor play it. It must be s.th. US as the author is US but I haven't a clue what it refers to. US natives, please help. TIA.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 6 hrs (2017-10-14 22:12:36 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Don't get the wrong idea BTW. The term in that old series would be very different from the way it would be used today as merely to mean "my other half" though as times have changed and the character "Arthur" was of his time to a great extent, always looking for the next "nice little earner" with little concern for anyone else, and the gender change also changes the tone and mood. After all, in your context he is with her in the bar having a beer, not "indoors", sight unseen. Also, the remark: "What could I say? When he’s right, he’s right." seems to imply that she really can't be bothered wasting her time arguing with him over his views on craft beer. It's obvious a) she has her own views and/or b) it's not that important an issue to her and c) she isn't going to make him change his views. So, she keeps schtum.
The author claims to be a native US speaker but IMO she is German. Her articles are full of incorrect idiomatic use of "idiomatic language" as already pointed out: Him Indoors had some sort of epiphany. Makes me shudder. And she uses many other clangers.
To me it's a bit difficult to assess the tone of "Him Indoors" here. I don't think it necessarily means that theirs is a household in which she goes out to work and he stays at home and does the housework, though the expression could imply that and can be found used in that sense (the reversal of the traditional "Her Indoors" household). She probably does have a career; she sounds self-confident and down-to-earth. I think "Him Indoors" is probably an affectionate put-down. She seems to be gently mocking the way he waxes lyrical with his "epiphany" about craft beer. What kind of guy says "this craft beer thing is no longer a niche. It’s a universe"? The whole craft beer thing is a bit prissy, really, and he seems to take it very seriously. Maybe he's a bit of a stay-at-home kind of guy, sensitive but not all that dynamic.
...and what I also still remember: "mein Kerl und ich": "Mein Kerl und ich gehen heut auch zum Italiener, weil wir uns gestern beim Einkauf nicht einigen konnten" http://laviedeboite.com/hauch-mich-mal-an/
In this kind of context, it's a bit hard to explain what that means, but Edith will know. Funnily enough, there is one description that fits well in here (all about beer): "[...] sind mein Kerl und ich in ein spannendes Restaurant gegangen. Eine Brauerei die [...-]Bier anbietet. Und das in rauen Mengen." https://kaminrot.blogspot.de
It's not exactly the same in nuance, but that's how you'd find it in German.
wow! I took the dogs out for a walk and the discussion has been busy in the meantime! I'm surprised Edith you never saw Minder as lots of people watched British TV and I'm sure the expression was picked up from it by some people in Dublin as well as I certainly have heard it there (just like stuff from Only Fools and Horses, Monty Python and the soaps Eastenders/Emmerdale/Coronation St.etc.) I think Minder has even been rerun a few times I also think BDF's analysis of the term 'Er indoors is spot on so maybe that's why the American is now turning it around to Him? A sort of feminist dig? Because lots of women do wear the trousers now, well, certainly more than in 1979. I also think the term probably originated with the series.
I very much agree with your analysis: I think Leon Griffith coined the phrase very astutely to sum up in so few words so much about the character of 'Arthur Daley' — who has himself entered the cultural vocabulary. And I think BDF's analysis is pot on in terms of the nuance of the term. As you yourself say, I doubt you'd find a better term in German, where I suspect the concept is utterly alien.
The expression is so common now that it sounds as though it must pre-date Minder, but nobody has found any evidence that it does.
"Did her indoors start with the TV show 'Minder', or did the show get the expression from somewhere else? So far the earliest reference to the term comes from the second draft of a Minder script, and it's said that the script's writer heard it from a taxi-driver friend of his. But where did the taxi-driver get it from?" http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?15331...
Leon Griffith had a wonderful ear and he could have made it up, as he seems to have made up "the world is your lobster" and many other classic phrases from the series. The taxi driver could well be apocryphal. If the phrase had been in common use before Minder there would be evidence of it somewhere.
The original "Her Indoors", which I'm sure predates The Minder, was, as I understand it, an old-fashioned stereotype of the housewife who was credited by her husband as ruler of the roost when, of course, the real power (social, economic and physical) in the household lay with the husband. This was both a pretence and part of the man's excuse to escape to the pub after work, to avoid "Her Indoors" and commiserate with his mates about their shared pretended situation of subjection to their wives. Turning it round to "Him Indoors" thus becomes a slightly arch statement that the wife considers herself the dominant person in the household and the one who engages with the outside world.
My knowledge of colloquial German is not very extensive, but I'll doubt you'll be able to do better here than "meine bessere Hälfte", and probably nothing else is called for.
The expression "'Er indoors", on which this is based, sounds like a long-established slang expression, but according to Green's Dictionary of Slang it was coined by the creator of Thames TV's series Minder, Leon Griffith (1979). Arthur Daley (George Cole) always used it to refer to his wife, who as far as I can remember was never seen. It obviously expresses the idea that the wife's place is in the home. "Him Indoors" sometimes refers to the modern reversal of that traditional situation, where she is the breadwinner and he is a househusband. But that idea is not necessarily present here. It is probably just affectionate, not belittling.
Irish TV, probably did not send it, never heard of "Minders". And we hardly watched British TV. More of a fan of Gay Byrne https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_Byrnehttps://stillslibrary... and Terry Wogan. Though I now see that the latter became a British citizen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Wogan. Any honourable Irish ........ Everyone Irish born before 1949 (does not apply to me) was offered UK citizenship. But I do not intend to evoke a political discussion. Have a pleasant weekend and thanks a lot for your help.
Well, we would also say "my better half" or "my other half" in EN, so I don't see why not... though it does miss out some of the nuance of meaning that comes with the cultural history of the expression. But I'm not sure that would really work in German anyway. When you think that the original expression "her indoors" was at one and the same time a slightly affectionate term for his devoted wife, but also a way of making his male friends really think he was being casually dismissive of her, while not wishng to refer to her in more affectionate / loving terms. Sort of male bravura between mates... (but he probably still bought her flowers on her birthday, as long as no-one saw him...) Also suggesting (again, probably falsely) that he was slightly afraid of her nagging etc. You need to see the character so perfectly portrayed by the late, great George Cole to understand...
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 6 hrs (2017-10-14 22:12:36 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Don't get the wrong idea BTW. The term in that old series would be very different from the way it would be used today as merely to mean "my other half" though as times have changed and the character "Arthur" was of his time to a great extent, always looking for the next "nice little earner" with little concern for anyone else, and the gender change also changes the tone and mood. After all, in your context he is with her in the bar having a beer, not "indoors", sight unseen. Also, the remark: "What could I say? When he’s right, he’s right." seems to imply that she really can't be bothered wasting her time arguing with him over his views on craft beer. It's obvious a) she has her own views and/or b) it's not that important an issue to her and c) she isn't going to make him change his views. So, she keeps schtum.
peer agreement (net): +8