Who was Bloody Norah and why is she used as an exclamation? | Notes and Queries

SEMANTIC ENIGMAS

Who was Bloody Norah and why is she used as an exclamation?

Deborah Cooke, Greenfield, Oldham, England

Bloody Norah was originally called Norah and the maid for the wealthy Duke Wodingtonshire in the 17th century. She earned the name Bloody Norah after she killed a servant of the duke with a stick of celery. When the Duke caught her repeatedly slapping the bloody corpse with the stick of celery he shouted "Oh dear god you''re all bloody, Norah...." and after beating her he banished her to a basement cell for 3 years. When the 3 years was up the Duke set her free but Norah insisted on working for the Duke. Reluctantly the Duke gave her a job cleaning the stables only to find 4 days later she had kill another servant, this time with a kettle. When the Duke found her once again maiming her victim with the dented kettle he cried "oh, bloody Norah" and grabbed a horseshoe in an attempt to kill Norah. After a long struggle Norah escapes and leaving the Battered Duke cussing to himself "Bloody Norah!". The expression came from the Duke himself as would tell the story of Norah to all he knew and would always refer to her as "Bloody Norah". As the Duke aged he grew senile and would be heard talking to himself and shouting "....BLOODY NORAH!!!!......". As people around saw him still as a respected figure in the community they all started saying Blood Norah as they all thought the Duke has invented a new cuss word. Its has stuck until present day.

Ronnie, Essex UK

I think Norah's up there with "Gordon Bennett", "Christchurch Cathedral" and "Blood & Sand" as a way of pretending not to swear once you've started. Similarly "God blind me" has become "Cor Blimey" and "By Our Lady" has become "Bloody"

Chris Bourne, Brussels Belgium

'Nora' is not a woman's name but a form of the word 'horror'. The phrase started off as "flaming horror" (or "flipping/bloody etc horror") as a cry of dismay/disbelief. In the normal Cockney manner, the final g' and the opening h' were dropped to produce something that sounded like "flamin-orror" and that in turn over the years became "Flamin' Nora!"...or "Bloody Nora" as a stronger alternative. So Nora wasn't a person at all but the result of an accent.

DAVID, Weybridge ENGLAND

During the 1990s in England a surge of mock-cockneys arose and with it also surged their use of the irritating rhyming cockney slang. This was one of the expressions that came about then, you will not find reference to it before then.

Laura Evans, Plaistow, UK

"Bloody Nora!" has been used in the London area for many years, in the same way as "Gawd Blimey!". In the 1970's I recall an incident in a pub when a female friend arrived inappropriately dressed. When someone remarked "Bloody Nora!", a Durham associate asked, "Oh, is her name Nora?". The expression had obviously not travelled that far north.

Rob Harrington, Leyton London

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