Fudge

[David Burgess]

No: HPFGUIDX 98958


>Animallover_11 wrote:
>> I think the key to this is that he "Ran out of Town".  This makes
>>his exit sound more by choice like he was scared of the results of
>>his lack of actions.  There has been some discussion on what side
>>Fudge is on.....this could lead to proving that he was working with
>>LV along.
>>
>
>
>Potioncat:
>In American English a headline that read "Fudge Ran Out of Town"
>would mean that the townspeople ran him out, or more likely here, he
>was forced out of office.
>Potioncat

Not to quibble (OK, yes, it is, but....) but if he were forced out of
office and the Ministry (and town) wouldn't the headline be "Fudge Run Out
of Town"?  Of course, "Fudge Ran Out of Town" could go either way (on a
rail, or uder his own steam).

For non-American English speakers, the reference we are using is to a
quaint American custom sometimes refered to as 'tarred, feathered, and run
out of town on a rail', where a ne'er-do-well is trussed up, bound hand
and foot, and then hung from a fence rail (as in 'rail and stile') and
carried out of town, with the admonition not to return.  I thought I'd
explain it, since I didn't realize the genesis of the saying until just a
couple of years ago.  I don't know if other English speaking group have
shared this particular method of inviting someone to move on, but I know
it was really popular in the American South until the middle of the 20th
century.

Dave