I grew up in the states with a close friend whose parents are both from the UK and she's the only person I've known to say "I beg your pardon" with regularity. Is that a British/UK English thing too? I never hear/read it used otherwise but it seems more succinct and "proper" to me.
Mentioning it because I'm actually slightly surprised to see the "sorry, what did you say" usage here and in the article because it seems so pedestrian
I'm American and I've heard Americans say "I beg your pardon", but like you I've always thought of it as a slightly proper (maybe WASP-y) idiom. People frequently say "excuse me", "sorry?", or "say again?". At least I do. Maybe I should get my ears checked.
I'm familiar with the expression but if an American said that to me, I'd probably think it meant "rethink what you just said".
It depends a lot on their tone. Most of the time I've heard it, it's a quick "begpardon?", sometimes with their ear cocked towards you.
When I see it in writing, I too for some reason picture an angry posh British man who is about to demand satisfaction.
They'll also commonly say "pardon me", which is a bit nicer "say again", but definitely nowhere close to "I beg your pardon" uptightness.
The usage of "I beg your pardon" is not uncommon in Australia, but more ironic.
“I beg your pardon” can be translated as “what the fuck did you just say to me?”
It’s getting quite serious if you have to whip that one out
You definitely shut up quickly when you said something as a kid and grandma whipped this one out
"I beg your pardon" like "Sorry" can have multiple meanings based on the situation and inflection.
It can be used to excuse not hearing something, to get someone to repeat something preposterous or to generally reply to something shocking without actually expecting the other person to reiterate.
I hear it most days in corporate tech.....
It's the perfect retort whenever someone expects a rose garden.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-eclUz-RYI
The proper response to ‘I beg your pardon’ (and ‘I beg to differ’) is always, “alright then, beg!”