The Straggler: Vox Humana

‘WITH that voice,” the lady gushed, “you can always get what you want!”

If only it were true! The mise-en-scène, I hasten to say, was far from intimate. There were half a dozen of us sitting round a restaurant table in Washington, D.C., and the ladies, who were a clear majority, were all of the most respectable sort. In any case, I hear this a lot. It seems counterintuitive to me, given this nation’s origins, but native-sorry, one is nowadays driven to pleonasm here: I mean native-born—Americans just love a British accent. And yes, the temptation to swing matters in one’s favor a bit by laying on that accent is occasionally irresistible. Contra my lady dining companion, I can’t always get what I want, and there are of course some places-certain bars in Boston or New York-where the effect might be dramatically the opposite of what is intended; but it is a fact that having a British voice gives one an edge in most of the USA.

About the Author

John Derbyshire

Mr. Derbyshire is a former contributing editor of National Review.

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‘WITH that voice,” the lady gushed, “you can always get what you want!”

If only it were true! The mise-en-scène, I hasten to say, was far from intimate. There were half a dozen of us sitting round a restaurant table in Washington, D.C., and the ladies, who were a clear majority, were all of the most respectable sort. In any case, I hear this a lot. It seems counterintuitive to me, given this nation’s origins, but native-sorry, one is nowadays driven to pleonasm here: I mean native-born—Americans just love a British accent. And yes, the temptation to swing matters in one’s favor a bit by laying on that accent is occasionally irresistible. Contra my lady dining companion, I can’t always get what I want, and there are of course some places-certain bars in Boston or New York-where the effect might be dramatically the opposite of what is intended; but it is a fact that having a British voice gives one an edge in most of the USA.