Hi Maisie I confess I thought lighting the blue touch paper was known worldwide ;-) Nivard Ovington in Cornwall (UK) On 14/01/2016 19:12, Maisie Egger via wrote: > Celia, and just what does this mean --- "Speak properly" Nivard? Is that a deliberate lighting of the blue touch-paper? --- > and here I’ve been carping on about the Glasgow patter being unintelligible for those not conversant with it. > > I had to go to Google to get an understanding of the expression only to discover that it is a colloquialism...so if you’re not in the know, you won’t ‘get it!’ > > > "Touchpaper" is paper impregnated with saltpetre (potassium or sodium nitrate; a. k. a. "nitre"), and used as a fuse for explosives, > > especially fireworks. Lighting it initiates the process leading to the explosion. To "light the blue touch paper" is simply a colloquial expression > > meaning "to kick things off" or "to get things started" > > > Maisie --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus