In practice it seemed to mean “I’m clearing the table now” between the courses of a meal, though none of us made much sense of it at the time
Much later we worked out that it was a mild rebuke for sitting there waiting for servants to clear, as gentry would
Granny Dixon – 1950s
Marion Dixon (Howes) – mother of Mum, spouse of Pop
comments
Ah - I have only now got it… it never triggered me into action as I just thought it was something I didn’t understand being said between adults
—Annabel, 28 Nov 2023
@Annabel: When it says "much later" in Origin it means >50 years… It's relatively recently that I twigged!
—Mark, 11 Dec 2023