[Idiom] "fair dos to him"

Status
Not open for further replies.

Olympian

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2008
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Hindi
Home Country
India
Current Location
India
Hello,

What is the meaning of 'fair dos to him'? I saw it in the following statement:


The former Fulham player Kit Symons, who is now Under-18s manager at Fulham, defended Al Fayed's decision. "It is great," he said. "The big thing is it is obviously something that the chairman feels very, very passionately about and he has decided to erect this statue and fair dos to him."

It is from a news story about Al Fayed installing a Michael Jackson statue.

Thank you
 
Hello,

What is the meaning of 'fair dos to him'? I saw it in the following statement:

The former Fulham player Kit Symons, who is now Under-18s manager at Fulham, defended Al Fayed's decision. "It is great," he said. "The big thing is it is obviously something that the chairman feels very, very passionately about and he has decided to erect this statue and fair dos to him."

It is from a news story about Al Fayed installing a Michael Jackson statue.

Thank you

To be honest English allows virtually any French idiom among educated speakers. I wonder if it means "faire dos", turn away, turn one's back?
 
:down: The trouble is the apostrophe, which demonstrates that the vowel is /u:/. When it's spelt 'dos' - as it is in the thread title - it invites a misunderstood /ɒ/ vowel. When you say "fair do's" of or to someone, there is no sense of turning your back: dos is a faux ami. ;-) (Some people disapprove of such apostrophes; I'm not a fan myself. But I don't see how to avoid it in this case.)

b
 
It is also something that is far more common in speech than in writing so the problem doesn't arise that often, and here it seems to be a quote.
 
I admit I've seldom heard it, so again I propose another probably incorrect reading: could it have to do with giving someone his dues?.... I don't see do's here as making much sense (I am thinking of do's and don'ts)...
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Ask a Teacher

If you have a question about the English language and would like to ask one of our many English teachers and language experts, please click the button below to let us know:

(Requires Registration)
Back
Top