licence, noun

In the interrogative phrase did you got a licence?: ‘do you have a licence?’, a jocular imitation of the obstructively bureaucratic behaviour (and poor command of English) of some civil servants and police force members.
Note:
Made popular by Kenneth Taylor, scriptwriter for the 1960s radio programme The Caltex Show.
1962 J. Taylor ‘Hennie van Saracen’. (lyrics)A traffic cop came up to me and said as he scratched his ear, ‘Well, did you got a licence to park that blerrie thing here?’
1981 E. Prov. Herald 4 May 12A particularly virulent form of a new disease is sweeping South Africa. It is called scientifically Habes potestatem or, when translated into the South African vernacular, it is known as ‘Did you got a licence?’
1991 Sunday Times 12 May 20Did you got a licence? With murder and mayhem rife, 250 detectives..have swooped on — gamblers...How absurd..do the raids appear when it is possible to have a flutter perfectly legally only 30 minutes from Pretoria in what is de facto the same country.
In the interrogative phrase did you got a licence?: ‘do you have a licence?’, a jocular imitation of the obstructively bureaucratic behaviour (and poor command of English) of some civil servants and police force members.
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19621991

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