Is there anything better than a truly British historical drama TV show, at teatime? Over the last few months, I’ve collected a few idioms and expressions from Downton Abbey (I’ve loved that series madly, haven’t you?). So, here are your Tuesday Idioms from Downton Abbey, Season One Episode One (continued).

You mustn’t take it personally.

Take something personally usually means be offended or upset by a remark or behavior, as if it was directed against oneself, when it is actually not. In this case, Mrs. Hughes, the housekeeper, is telling Mr. Carson, the butler, that he shouldn’t be so offended just because someone outside the family is going to inherit the estate: it isn’t “his own” family, after all. Mr. Carson, however, shows a lot of affection for them, which Mrs. Hughes, although loyal, doesn’t entirely share or even understand.

I can’t stand by and watch our family threatened with a loss of everything they hold dear

Hold dear    be fond of; cherish; be attached to; care for/about. love – have a great affection or liking for; yearn; feel tenderness for. This is the continuation of the conversation between Mrs. Hughes and Mr. Carson.

I beg your pardon.

(here) I apologize, please forgive me, I’m sorry. Mr. Carson apologizes to Mrs. Hughes for his snappy remark, an abrupt reply that might also have hurt her, seeing that she probably is more family to Mr. Carson than the Crawleys will ever be.

Have you ever wished you’d gone another way?

Go another way (or another route) = make a different choice, decide otherwise, do something else. In this conversation, the expressions of the two actors are everything. They both show their feelings through their eyes, more than through their words. Mrs. Hughes is generally content with her position, goes on well with almost all the staff and is valued by the Crowley family. She doesn’t really mean to question all this, and yet she can’t help having some regrets, or however, wondering, sometimes, if things could have been different (and if she could have had a family of her own, mainly). Mr. Carson is puzzled, possibly a bit disappointed and worried.

He asked if he could run down (to) the village

Run down to = to go very quickly on foot to reach someone or something (fare una corsa/una scappata).

They can’t expect you to sit by silent  as your fortune is stolen away

Sit by silent = remain inactive and say nothing about something that is very bad for you or others. Sarah O’Brien, Lady Grantham’s personal maid, is perhaps one of the most complex characters in the show. She is sometimes seen as a “villain”, but she’s most of all bitter and manipulative. She is also the only ally of Thomas Barrow, who is otherwise disliked by almost everybody, and certain details of her life that are later revealed during the following seasons of the show prove that although undoubtedly  selfish, she’s not incapable of kindness and affection. In this case, she’s trying to help Thomas  (and herself) as much as Lady Grantham. She may also be genuinely (to some extent) concerned that the Cora might lose her fortune.

How’s Bates working out?

How’s Bates doing? Cora’s question to O’Brien is not entirely innocent: she knows of her maid’s dislike for Bates, and she’s not so keen on him herself, mainly because she shares Carson’s doubts regarding the valet’s ability to work. Cora is a likeable person, but not immune to intrigue, when it serves her own and, above all, her daughters’ interests.

It seems unkind to criticize a man for his affliction... even if it means he can’t do his job

affliction = an infirmity, disease or illness. In this case, Mr. Bates’s limp. This is an example of O’Brien’s hypocrisy. She criticizes the man, and enjoys doing so, although she plays coy (feigns reluctance).

How are you settling in?

This is another way to ask a question that is actually similar to Cora’s, although Lord Grantham is addressing Mr. Bates. He means to be kind, and yet the sensitive Bates hears a tinge of doubt in the question, and answers accordingly. We already know he’s very proud.

The house hasn’t worn you out, with the endless stairs…

Wear someone out = make someone very tired, exhausted. Still Lord Grantham talking to Bates.

After I left the army, I’d a spot of bother

A spot of bother= a small amount of trouble or difficulty, a slight problem. Mr. Bates’ answer to Lord Grantham’s question “What happened?” is a huge understatement. He had a lot of troubles, but would never say, and not just because he’s talking to his employer. Understatement and restraint is the habit of a life for him.

Just when I got through that, my knee started playing up

Get through = overcome, successfully deal with a problem or difficulty: The refugees will need help to get through the winter. Play up = hurt or cause problems: the car’s playing up again

Oh, pardon me for living!

Pardon me for living = an angry, exasperated response to a criticism or rebuke that one feels is unwarranted or unjustified, especially since they believe they did something very minimal or nothing at all. In this case, O’Brien asked Thomas, just back from the village, where he had been, and his answer sounded a bid like “I’ll tell you, seeing as you just can’t mind your own business”. So she retorts with thisphrase

Be sure to get your foot in the door when Bates is gone

Be sure to get your foot in the door when Bates is gone    Get your foot in the door = take a first step (that can give you a chance to improve your position, lead to future opportunities or achieve a result). O’Brien is still Thomas’s ally and she’s giving him advice, as he’s always trying to get a better position and would like to replace Bates in fact.

You can’t get rid of him just because  he talks behind our back

You can’t have him removed or sent away just because he reports unpleasant information on us. What’s funny here is that Thomas and O’Brien are actually talking behind Bates’s back, and that’s something he would never do. Thomas is not a stupid, nor an entirely bad person, but he’s not very intelligent either, and he’s not aware that he’s disliked because he’s constantly blaming someone for something, and because he actually expects everyone to dislike him.

There’s more than one way to skin a cat

There are many ways to achieve the same goal or result  

I wish to thank TFD (The Free Dictionary) for its existence, but also the Macmillan Dictionary, the Collins Dictionary, the Cambridge Dictionary…

Tuesday Idioms from Downton Abbey is part of the English language section: look for more!