In November 1963 , as The Beatles were becoming a cultural phenomenon in Britain but before they ’d become known in the U.S. , a photo appeared in the British press showing John Lennon , Paul McCartney , and George Harrison playing Rickenbacker guitars . Rickenbacker ’s London distributor , his " urgency cloaked in British understatement , " wrote to the company ’s California headquarters , “ This shows both the Rickenbacker ’s ( sic ) used by the group I mentioned to you . We ’ll need samples of both these models , please . ” During the Kuala Lumpur-to-Perth leg of British Airways Flight 9 on 24 June 1982 , volcanic ash caused all four engines of the Boeing 747 aircraft to fail . Although pressed for time as the aircraft rapidly lost altitude , Captain Eric Moody still managed to make an announcement to the passengers : " Ladies and Gentlemen , this is your Captain speaking . We have a small problem . All four engines have stopped . We are doing our damnedest to get them going again . I trust you are not in too much distress . " The stereotype of English understatement has been exploited in humour , for example in '' Monty Python 's The Meaning of Life '' . In one scene , a suburban dinner party is invaded by Death , who wears a long black cloak and carries a scythe . " Well , " says one party guest , " that 's cast rather a gloom over the evening , has n't it ? " In another scene , an Army officer has just lost his leg . When asked how he feels , he looks down at his bloody stump and responds , " Stings a bit . "
British Airways Flight 9
British Airways Flight 9
English understatement