Falling For It

Jeffrey Goldberg has this to say about the Jersey/Dylan pickup:

Bob Dylan was picked up by a cop in Long Branch, N.J. for allegedly acting suspiciously while on a walk. The cop, a 22-year-old, did not know who Dylan was. According to Britain's Daily Mail, Craig Spencer, a "senior officer" with the Long Branch police, told a reporter: 'I'm afraid we all fell about laughing... 'The poor woman has taken rather a lot of abuse from us."

Oh, rilly? I'm falling about laughing at this rather half-piped quote. Unless, of course, Senior Officer Spencer is London-born. I'm calling the Long Branch police to find out.

I don't know. "Fell about" isn't such a Britishism that you won't hear it on this side of the pond (especially from a Dylan fan). Look at Thin Lizzy's "The Boys Are Back In Town," a very American song released in the 70s:

And that time over at Johnny's place
Well this chick got up and she slapped Johnny's face
Man we just fell about the place
If that chick don't want to know, forget her

I admit, the "rather" adds to the suspicion. But I don't find it impossible.

A far worse example comes from a book I read years ago (can't remember the title) about John Lennon. The author quoted people who knew Lennon in his early days, and I was a little surprised how they all seemed to say that he would "take the mickey" out of acquaintances. I might have bought it, but then the Beatles hit it big, and suddenly, even Americans are making the claim.