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Ask for help > The Samaritans were engaged.
The Samaritans were engaged.
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-eva
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The Samaritans were engaged.
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Dear colleagues, I �ve already finished watching Fawlty Towers "Communication Problems", again. There �s a joke (I can hear the laughter), the "Samaritans were engaged" which I�m unable to understand. Can you please help me? Thanks a lot in advance. Have a nice day. Eva
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4 May 2016
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almaz
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The Samaritans is a charity which provides a telephone helpline for people in distress or contemplating suicide. In the episode you�re referring to, Basil has just won money on a horse and his wife Sybil notices that he�s being uncharacteristically "jolly". Since Sybil disapproves of his gambling, Basil replies that singing and rubbing his hands with apparent glee is just his way of coping with life until he can get through to the Samaritans (the implication is that he tried to phone but the line was busy).
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4 May 2016
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-eva
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Oh! Thank you very much indeed! I do know about The Samaritans, but couldn �t think of engaged as referring to their line. Instead, I was thinking about engaged as "being in a relationship-about to be married" and couldn�t make head or tails of it. So, Almaz, a million thanks, how lucky of me to belong to this community ;-) Love, Eva
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4 May 2016
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