When do you say "A fellow named..." ?
Posted by cheviot@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 24 comments
Is there a difference in what occasion you would say "I was talking to a fellow named Steve Davis" versus "I was talking to Steve Davis"?
Affectionate-Owl9594@reddit
I’ve never used “fellow” in my life but I’d say “I was talking to a guy/someone called Steve Davis about X” if the person I was talking to didn’t know who Steve Davis was. If they did, I’d say “I was talking to Steve Davis”
Icy_Mixture1482@reddit
I was talking to a guy with a wooden leg named Smith.
DameKumquat@reddit
What was his other leg called?
cheviot@reddit (OP)
!Answer Thanks, this matches up with what I've seen in Youtube videos.
Much-Beyond2@reddit
Is the context snooker? If this is referring to the famous Snooker player Steve Davis then there is a sort of niche phrasing which is almost a bit sarcastic: the context is that the audience knows he is a famous player and will be an authority on the subject: like "Who just read my screenplay.. just some guy named Martin Scorcese!". It jumped out at me because the Snooker world championship is on right now and this is totally something I could hear the pundit John Parrott saying..
DameKumquat@reddit
More context: the snooker player Steve Davis was famous for being incredibly boring (at the time, Alex Higgins and others were good for drama). It still surprises me that he's an entertaining commentator!
Djinjja-Ninja@reddit
It amazes me that he's a DJ. He was supporting Blur when I saw them at Wembley.
Martipar@reddit
I've certainly used it. There's no specific use case it's often just what comes to mind at the time. I don't use words like "bloke" or "geezer" so fellow, dude or person are what i usually use.
Rich-Peak-3902@reddit
All the people here saying they've never said "fellow" in their life; do you mean that, or do you just not realize that "feller" is just a bastardized pronunciation of "fellow"?
Another_Random_Chap@reddit
I was talking to a chap called Steve Davis
BeaumarchaisApu@reddit
For me it’d depend if they‘re a snooker fan or not.
DistrustPilot@reddit
"I was talking to the Steve Davis"
L-0-T-H-0-S@reddit
When do you say "a fellow named..."? Sometime after realising you woke up as Bertie Wooster in a PG Wodehouse book.
Other than that, never. Its purpose is to denote a specific person, acquainted to one's, but of non-acquaintance to a third party.
Oh, I say. One used one. How delightful, I really must tell Geeves the very minute he's finished dredging the moat...
Beginning-Annual-860@reddit
I’d love to know where you heard someone saying this!
TheSilkyBat@reddit
You would say "I was talking to a fellow named..." if you were trapped in a black and white film.
pompombum@reddit
I’ve never used or heard anyone use “fellow” in my life.. maybe when I watched the crown?
It would be “you know that guy/bloke named Steve”
2c0@reddit
Not even "for he's a jolly good fellow?" I'm also struggling to find uses beyond this.
snavej1@reddit
It would make sense to say 'a fellow named Leslie' because that could also be a female name.
HarissaPorkMeatballs@reddit
Generally if the person you're talking to doesn't know the person you're talking about, and likely you don't actually know him that well either. "Fellow" can be a bit posh/old-fashioned though. You might be more likely to hear fella/bloke/guy/man or various regional options.
cheviot@reddit (OP)
!Answer Thanks! Makes sense.
ukbot-nicolabot@reddit
OP marked this as the best answer, given by /u/Affectionate-Owl9594.
^(What is this?)
hdhxuxufxufufiffif@reddit
Yes, I'd use a fellow named or similar construction if I didn't expect the listener to know who that was.
tvthrowaway366@reddit
I think I would only say “a fellow named…” if I had woken up from a deep sleep and found myself transported back to the early twentieth century
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