OFAH: Trigger’s Dodgy Briefcases
“Dodgy” means possibly illegal.
Del: Ah, there he is. Trigger! Come here. You know my brother, don’t you, eh?
Trigger: Yeah, of course I do! How (are) you going, Dave? Sorry I’m late, Del-boy. I had to pop round my sister’s to arrange an alibi for next Thursday. Joycie…
Rodney: Del, why do they call him Trigger? Does he carry a gun?
Del: No. It’s ’cause he looks like a horse! Listen, me and Trigger have got some business to discuss, like, know what I mean? So, you get the drinks and meet us back here over by the table, alright?
Rodney: Oh, arr sir, anything you say, sir. (Do you want to) borrow my daughter, sir?
Del: No, no… very clever kid, you know, my brother. Yeah, got two GCEs – one in math, one in art. You want to see him when he writes a letter! Some of the words he uses!
Trigger: What, long ones?
Del: Well, they’re like that, you know, some of them! Anyway, what (are) you selling?
Trigger: This. I’ve got twenty-five of them all told. The others are in the car. I thought I won’t wrap it up; parcels attract attention these days. Best to carry it openly, then it don’t look “conspicious“.
Del: Yeah, yeah, that’s good thinking, that, Trig. Yeah, really good thinking – it goes so well with your sling-back wellington boots and your off-the-shoulder donkey jacket! You look like an executive hod carrier! Oi, Rodders, what (do) you think of this? In for a dig, isn’t it, eh?
Rodney: It’s plastic!
Del: Plastic! Old English vinyl. Combination locks, hmm. Dinky, little handle, I don’t know. I might be able to push some of them round the old squash clubs, eh?
Rodney: We shouldn’t have anything to do with them, Del. Police (are) most probably looking for them right now!
Del: Tell us the truth, are the police looking for these things, Trig?
Trigger: No they’re not, Del, and that’s the truth.
Rodeny: Why are you hiding it under the table, then?
Trigger: ‘Cause you never know when they’re going to start looking for them, do you?
Rodeny: Leave them Del, leave them.
Del: Oi, stum, right?
Rodney: Oi, we’re partners, at least respect my opinion.
Del: Alright, alright Rodney, I respect your opinion. How much?
Trigger: For you, Del-boy, 17 pounds each.
Del: Ha, you know what happened to the real Trigger, don’t you? Roy Rogers had him stuffed!
Trigger: Alright, then – fourteen.
Del: Fourteen! Leave it out! Five.
Trigger: Twelve.
Del: Six.
Trigger: Ten.
Del: Nine.
Trigger: Eight.
Del: Done!
For some unknown reason, Trigger always calls Rodney “Dave”.
“Pop round” = go to, visit
The character’s name is Trigger. A trigger is the lever of a gun, but Trigger was also the name of a horse in an American TV show hosted by Roy Rogers.
“Oh, arr sir, anything you say, sir. (Do you want to) borrow my daughter, sir”. I think Rodney is trying to sound like a pirate talking to his captain… or perhaps a coutry farm worker talking to the land owner.
GCE is the old system of UK secondary school qualifications. students try to attain a GCE (General Certificate of Education) in all individual subjects, with the best students getting 8 to 10 GCEs.
“All told”=in total
“Don’t” is often used in the London-area dialect instead of “doesn’t”.
“Conspicious” is Trigger’s confusion between two words: conspicuous and suspicious.
“Wellington boots” is the British name for gum boots, rubber boots or rain boots.
A “donkey jacket” is a manual labourer’s jacket.
“In for a dig”… I’m confused about this one! It’s certainly from “N for a dig” (aka “infra dig”) which is the Cockney alphabet for the letter “N”, but what it means in this dituation I cant imagine.
“Dinky”=cute, little, too small
“Push”= sell
“Round”= at
“Squash” is an indoor sport, popular with businessmen.
“Stum”=”Be quiet!
“Leave it out!”=I don’t believe you, I don’t agree with you.
“Done”=agreed, the negotiation has finished.