Clabbyunknown

adj. A 'clabby' conversation is one struck up by a commissionaire or cleaning lady in order to avoid any further actual work. The opening gambit is usually designed to provoke the maximum confusion, and therefore the longest possible clabby conversation. It is vitally important to learn the correct, or 'clixby' (q.v.), response to a clabby gambit, and not to get trapped by a 'ditherington' (q.v.). For instance, if confronted with a clabby gambit such as: 'Oh, Mr Smith, I didn’t know you’d had your leg off', the ditherington response is 'I haven’t...' whereas the clixby is 'Good.'