Letter 26

Bert

Bert Morris wrote:

Please forgive this intrusion on a marvelous site.
My inquiry has nothing to do with your historical subjects as far as I
know, but I linked to this site on a word/phrase search.

Specifically I am looking for definitive documentation on the phrase
"the pros from Dover" as used in the 1970 Robert Altman film M*A*S*H. Is this phrase from an older historical quote? Does it refer to Dover England, is it a corruption of "prose from Dover?"

Any thoughts, please. Thanks again for taking the time.

Sincerely,

Bert Morris
Theatrical Technicians, Inc.
Washington, DC

Dear Bert,

I think you the word may be pronounced "proa". This is another name for a small ship and derives from the malay word "prau". It does not need to much imagination to see how a word such as this could be distorted to "prose". As you know, Britain had an interest in this area in the past and many words which make little sense are still used today. My site explains quite a few if you look in the glossary.

Hope this helps