Sir, – A well-known greeting when you meet somebody whose name you cannot remember: “Ah, ’tis yourself!”. – Yours, etc,
TOM CARROLL,
Limerick.
Sir, – A former colleague, when asked “How are you?”, would reply, “If I woke up in the morning feeling well, I would be worried about myself”. He died last year aged 88. – Yours, etc,
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MICHAEL D LAWLOR,
Bray,
Co Wicklow.
Sir, – Whenever asked by way of salutation by a particular friend “How’s she cuttin’?”, my husband’s riposte was always “Like a Blue Gillette”. Neither of the interlocutors is with us anymore.
Is there still a Blue Gillette blade? – Yours, etc,
ATTRACTA SHEILS,
Rathmines,
Dublin 6.
Sir, – While out walking with my late father in the 1950s, we would often pass a neighbour who appeared to be in decline, although they were roughly the same age.
Ritual greetings were invariably about the weather.
Once out of earshot, my father would say, “Well, he’s been like a creaking door for years, and will outlast me, no doubt.” He did. – Yours, etc,
PATRICK JUDGE,
Dún Laoghaire,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – When asked how he was, a friend of my father would reply, “Pullin’ the divil be the tail”. – Yours, etc,
JOHN WILLIAMS,
Clonmel,
Co Tipperary.
Sir, – When asked “How are you?” (I’m over 80), I like to reply, “Still having a pint in the departure lounge”. – Yours, etc,
BRENDAN O’DONNELL,
Glenageary,
Co Dublin.