Meanings
- UKbeveragesCan you pass the port, please?
Origin
Traditionally, after a vintage port has been decanted, the decanter is passed clockwise around the table until everyone has poured some. If the decanter should stall en route, it is considered poor etiquette to ask for it directly, so one must request it in a roundabout way: :— Do you know the Bishop of Norwich? :— No. :— He's a terribly good chap, but he always forgets to pass the port.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
do you know the Bishop of Norwich. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/do%20you%20know%20the%20Bishop%20of%20Norwich
“do you know the Bishop of Norwich.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/do%20you%20know%20the%20Bishop%20of%20Norwich. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “do you know the Bishop of Norwich,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/do%20you%20know%20the%20Bishop%20of%20Norwich.
Source: do you know the Bishop of Norwich on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.