A man walks into a chip shop and requests “fish ‘n’ chips twice”. The bloke behind the counter says “it’s alright mate I heard you the first time!”
This seems to be an old British joke, but I’ve never heard “twice” used in this way. It came up in discussion on an e-mail list and so I did a Google search for the phrase. In addition to the above quote, from an article about missing fish ‘n’ chips, I also found the following quotes:
You know you’re not in Britain when “Fish & chips twice please” draws a long gormless stare.
and, in a more natural context:
Chesney thanks Les and is told to get fish and chips twice by Les, but he looks at Fizz and says, “no three times”. Chesney turns round and shouts to Fizz that he can stay and runs off all excited to the chippy.
I wonder if this use of “twice” is restricted to fish ‘n’ chips, or if it can be applied to other items one might order at a restaurant? SPAM and rabbit stew twice please?
