What are Spanish practices?
The dispute between British Airways management and staff continues (to have the entire issue explained, click here. Management have accused staff of indulging in ‘Spanish practices’ in the workplace. It’s an odd phrase which, according to Brewer’s Phrase and Fable, is almost uniquely used to describe industrial practices, and was in frequent use during the print workers’ strike at Wapping. The term is believed to have been inspired by the practices of the Spanish Inquisition, and the Oxford English Dictionary cite Francis Walsingham as writing in 1584: “The French King..
