Wikipedia talk:Featured article candidates/Well he would, wouldn't he?/archive1
"Well he would, wouldn't he?" is an aphorism that is commonly used as a retort to a self-interested denial. It was said by the model Mandy Rice-Davies (pictured) while giving evidence at the 1963 trial of Stephen Ward, who had been accused of living off money paid to Rice-Davies and her friend Christine Keeler for sex: part of the larger Profumo affair. While being cross-examined Rice-Davies was told that Lord Astor, who owned the Cliveden estate that Ward rented a cottage on, had denied an affair with her: she replied "Well he would, wouldn't he?" Political, communications and psychological experts have interpreted it as a phrase which indicates the speaker believes a person is making a self-interested, obvious or irrelevant denial. They have also stated it functions as a retort to mistruths made by public figures. Linguistically, it has been noted for its use of the modal verb would to create rhetorical effect. The phrase has been included in the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations since 1979. (Full article...)
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Proposed blurb above in case of a possible TFA. Anyone interested can tweak, comment, nitpick etc; just make sure to update the character count too. Cheers, Tim O'Doherty (talk) 17:54, 28 March 2024 (UTC)
Alternatively:
"Well he would, wouldn't he?", commonly referred to as Mandy Rice-Davies Applies or shortened to MRDA, is a British political phrase and aphorism used as a retort to a self-interested denial. The Welsh model Mandy Rice-Davies coined it during the 1963 trial of the English osteopath Stephen Ward. John Profumo, the Secretary of State for War had an extramarital affair with Rice-Davies's friend, Christine Keeler, which became public. Ward was tried for living on the earnings of prostitution: allegedly Rice-Davies and Keeler were paid for sex by members of the British elite and Ward lived off their earnings. Ward's lawyer asked Rice-Davies if she was aware that Lord Astor had denied having an affair with her; Rice-Davies replied "Well he would, wouldn't he?" The phrase has been widely adopted since. Linguistically, the phrase has been noted for its use of the modal verb "would" to create rhetorical effect. The phrase has been included in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations since 1979. (Full article...)
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