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In 1985 the inimitable Patricia Routledge did a series of five short sketches for the BBC where she plays a woman named Kitty. Practically every sentence is a (pop) culture reference and I've been able to figure out most of them, but this one especially remains a mystery.

The video can be found here: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2pfkk1

She said, ‘Its Morag from the television programme, do you remember me?’ I said, ‘Yes, I do; I lent you two cotton buds which I never saw back.’ She said, ‘I’ve got the producer for you’, so I said, ‘I hope you’ve sealed the envelope properly’, which is an old golfing retort of mine. On she comes - the producer - I could hear her boiler-suit creaking even long-distance - ‘Is that Kitty?’ I said, ‘If it’s not, this cardigan’s a remarkably good fit.’ She said, ‘Kitty - do you like fun?’

What does this expression mean? The context is that she's on the phone about to have a conversation with a stereotypical dungaree-wearing, chain-smoking lesbian television producer.

Valorum
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voodoo-burger
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    Honestly, a lot of these (like the peanuts and the webbing and such) just seem to be intentionally nonsensical. – Walt Jan 12 '17 at 15:49
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    The only way I could make sense of this without any pop culture references is that the preceding line is "I've got the producer for you" and "for you" can be interpreted as "on your side" which can mean that she is attempting to evoke quid-pro-quo bribe imagery (the envelope containing money; the golf course being a venue for private-club back-door deals). Whether people laughed because the prompter said so or it was actually funny for some topical reason, I have no idea. – Yorik Jan 13 '17 at 16:51
  • This is a reference to the 'envelope rule' used in golf foursomes, most famously in the Ryder Cup. Where a player suffers an injury, another player can be called upon to sit out. I've no idea why it's funny though. – Valorum Jan 07 '24 at 14:24
  • In what I'll call "urban dictionary" (to be politically correct), this expression is 100% PG 18+++ so I think we can dismiss that meaning... – OldPadawan Jan 07 '24 at 14:35

1 Answers1

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This is a reference to the 'envelope rule' used in golf foursomes, most famously in the Ryder Cup. Where a player suffers an injury, another player can be called upon to sit out. Their name is placed in an envelope that both captains verify is firmly sealed.

I've no idea why it's funny though, other than she's using it as shorthand for suggesting that the female producer is the sort of woman who would be the captain of a golf team (e.g. a stereotypical lesbian).

Valorum
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