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Feedback: Why the UK will be in a pickle this summer

Feedback is our weekly column of bizarre stories, implausible advertising claims, confusing instructions and more

27 July 2016

cucumber time cartoon

Paul McDevitt

Surely you’re gherkin?

HAVING been forced to digest a year’s worth of political turmoil in just five weeks, British citizens will welcome Parliament’s summer recess – traditionally a period when newspapers struggle to fill their pages and lightweight stories dominate the headlines. In the UK, this is known as the “silly season”, but Feedback notes that many countries – among them Denmark, Iceland, Germany, Poland and Norway – refer to it as “cucumber time“.

Although the UK has certainly been left in a pickle this summer, we can’t help but wonder about the provenance of this phrase. Can any of our readers…

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