"It was the best of shires, it was the…

“It was the best of shires, it was the Worcestershire’s” is a saying that has been printed on several images. The pun is on the famous opening line of the historical novel by Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities (1859): “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”

“Worcestershire’s” is not pronounced like “worst of shires,” however. (See this video. Or this video.)

“It was the best of shires, it was the Worcestershires” was posted on Twitter by Caitlin on December 11, 2013. “It was the best of shires, It was the worst of shires” was posted on Twitter by Montaukoutloud on April 4, 2017. The saying—with an image—became popular in late 2019.

“It was the bestestershire, it was the worcestershire” is a related joke.

Wikipedia: Worcestershire sauce
Worcestershire (/ˈwʊstərʃər/ WUUS-tər-shər) or Worcester sauce (/ˌwʊstər -/ (About this soundlisten) WUUS-tər -⁠) is a fermented liquid condiment created in the city of Worcester in Worcestershire, England during the first half of the 19th century. The creators were the chemists John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins, who went on to form the company Lea & Perrins. Worcestershire sauce has been considered a generic term since 1876, when the English High Court of Justice ruled that Lea & Perrins did not own the trademark to “Worcestershire”.

Wikiquote: A Tale of Two Cities
A Tale of Two Cities (1859) is a historical novel by Charles Dickens. The plot centres on the years leading up to the French Revolution and culminates in the Jacobin Reign of Terror. Set in London and Paris, it tells the story of two men, Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton, who look similar but are very different in traits.

Book I - Recalled to Life
Chapter I - The Period
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

Twitter
Caitlin
@420MurderBabe
It was the best of shires, it was the Worcestershires.
12:48 PM · Dec 11, 2013·Twitter for iPhone

Twitter
Montaukoutloud
@Montaukoutloud
It was the best of shires,
It was the worst of shires,
It was a saucy place.
7:58 AM · Apr 4, 2017·Twitter Web Client

Twitter
Montaukoutloud
@Montaukoutloud
It was the best of shires,
it was the worst of shires.
It was a saucey little shire.
9:59 AM · Jun 19, 2018·Twitter for Android

Twitter
rumchata szn
@20CashRegular
it was the best of shires
2:07 PM · Sep 28, 2019·Twitter for iPhone

Twitter
Brandon C Dyer
@BCDyer
It was the best of shires. It was the worst of woostahshahs.
I don’t understand this picture
😎
9:40 PM · Oct 9, 2019 from Maine, USA·Twitter for iPhone

Twitter
Stitch
@El_Cliente
“It was the best of shires, it was the worcestershire’s…”
12:21 PM · Oct 10, 2019·Tweetbot for iΟS

Twitter
Bernie’s 50 State Sweep 🧹
@DylanBickers
It was the best of Shires
It was the Worcestershires
10:09 PM · Oct 10, 2019·Twitter for iPhone

Twitter
///
@TheNerdyTexan_
It was the best of shires,
it was the worcestrshires
12:31 AM · Jan 28, 2020·Twitter for iPhone

Bits & Pieces
It was the best of Shires…
February 10, 2020
(image—ed.)