do a Reggie Perrin

English

Etymology

From the name of the main character in the British sitcom The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, who faked his own suicide.

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

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Verb

do a Reggie Perrin (third-person singular simple present does a Reggie Perrin, present participle doing a Reggie Perrin, simple past did a Reggie Perrin, past participle done a Reggie Perrin)

1. (British, slang) To fake one's own suicide.
   • 1998, "Whispering Bob", "There must be more to life than this!", uk.local.southwest, Usenet,^[1]

     Anyway, I went to Weymouth Yesterday, and sat on the beach thinking I could do a Reggie Perrin, so I took off all my clothes, and ran into the sea. I had planned to fake my own death, but for those of you who don't know, Weymouth's beach is a tad shallow, and is so for a considerable distance, well I ran as far as I could before my gonads rested in my throat cos of the cold and decided...THERE HAS TO BE MORE TO LIFE THAN THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

   • 2003, Anthony Hulse, Insanity Never Sleeps, Mediaworld PR Ltd, →ISBN, page 20,

     “Bloody hell, can’t you do a Reggie Perrin luv? Leave your clothes on Redcar beach and when I receive the dosh I’ll meet you in Australia?”

   • 2007, Anthony Rosen, An UnOrdinary Life: Memoirs of Anthony Rosen, Roundtuit Publishing, →ISBN, page 135,

     Following a mental breakdown in 1973, he did a “Reggie Perrin”, but was arrested in mistake for Lord Lucan (the peer wanted for murder) in Australia on Christmas Eve 1974.