👉 Okay, let’s tackle this wee little bit of late-night, slightly disturbing, and frankly rather baffling British swear. You’re asking about the emphatic utterance: "’03 22." (Seriously, where did that even come from?!)
Now, before you freak out, we need to unpack it. This isn't just a random gag. It's a historical mouthful, essentially a minced oath—one of those earlier, very roundabout, and therefore more socially acceptable (relatively! – swearing was much tanner in the early 20th century) ways of saying something rather unpleasant. Here’s what we actually know, and it leans heavily into the wonderfully weird corners of British lexicology: The Origin, According to What We Think We Know... Basically, around the late 1890s-early 20th century in the industrial areas of northern England (Lancashire being a hotbed) there was a real, serious, and frankly rather alarming problem. There were a phenomenal amount of births happening, particularly amongst the young women working in the textile mills. This was a raw, upsetting fact, and the sheer volume of new arrivals was... well… let’s just say it was considered a public nuisance. So, to avoid outright saying what you know they were meaning. The saying, with its initials and numbers that sounded like something completely random, became shorthand for that specific
