Stef N. Posted August 6, 2021 Share Posted August 6, 2021 I remembered this shop from when I visited Bruges a few years back. 1 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAF4EVER Posted August 6, 2021 Share Posted August 6, 2021 3 hours ago, Stef N. said: I remembered this shop from when I visited Bruges a few years back. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephLalor Posted August 7, 2021 Share Posted August 7, 2021 (edited) On 7/17/2021 at 1:09 PM, Six97s said: They've left these premises now, but I assure you this is genuine. On the subject of "rude" names, there's a builders' merchant called Cox Long. Their trucks had something like "You've no problems when you're Cox Long" on the doors. 😶 This reminds me that there used to be a hairdresser in the Dublin district of Rathmines, called Trevor Francis. I had a notion that whatever you asked for there, you'd come out with a 1970s bubble perm. Edited August 7, 2021 by JosephLalor 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephLalor Posted August 7, 2021 Share Posted August 7, 2021 (edited) On 7/25/2021 at 10:49 AM, treker_ed said: There are an abundance of weird and wonderful place names in the UK. It would seem our ancestors had a definite way with words! Place names that translate into literally like "the place in the crook of the river" or "settlement on the brow of the hill" we have a rich and varied history of place names. However, they can be a little, shall we say, eye opening in this day and age - thankfully the British sense of humour (and history) seems to hold sway and keeps them in place for future generations to have a few giggles! (the following have been borrowed from https://anglotopia.net/ultimate-list-of-funny-british-place-names/) Back Passage, London Mincing Lane, London Mudchute, London Percy Passage, London Swallow Passage, London Trump Street, London Cumming Street, London Cock Hill, London Titley Close, London Cockbush Avenue, London Cock Lane, Tutts Clump, Berkshire, UK Golden Balls, Oxfordshire Hooker Road, Norwich Moisty Lane, Staffordshire I think we have one of the most wonderful and varied histories of place names. From Saxon, Roman, Celtic, Viking, Norman and everything in-between, such a rich and diverse history. Back in 2007-8 I was on an assignment to UBS in Stamford Connecticut. The convention for email user names was the first 6 letters of the surname followed by the first 2 letters of the first name. For example, my username was lalorjo. The convention was reversed in the case of Sheila Cockburn. Edited August 7, 2021 by JosephLalor 1 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelh Posted August 7, 2021 Share Posted August 7, 2021 8 hours ago, Graham Boak said: Spirit is another word for ghost in English too. Indeed, but in South America it resonated differently. Cultural differences. I suppose it is like saying the helicopter was haunted. These days companies are very careful about names in various markets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelh Posted August 7, 2021 Share Posted August 7, 2021 Of course also I forgot. There was was the Swastika laundry in Dublin It lasted until the eighties I remember seeing the vans and thinking even then it was a bit odd. But the clothes were ruthlessly cleaned. Sure they pre dated the Nazis but..... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil.C Posted August 7, 2021 Share Posted August 7, 2021 9 hours ago, noelh said: Indeed, but in South America it resonated differently. Cultural differences. I suppose it is like saying the helicopter was haunted. These days companies are very careful about names in various markets. Yep. They generally make up meaningless names that will not cause offence in any markets, like Mondeo etc. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil.C Posted August 7, 2021 Share Posted August 7, 2021 Not a company name but we used to have neighbours whose surname was Kuntze. I used to quite enjoy mentioning "the Kuntze's next door" in conversation. 😉 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted August 7, 2021 Share Posted August 7, 2021 46 minutes ago, Neil.C said: Not a company name but we used to have neighbours whose surname was Kuntze. I used to quite enjoy mentioning "the Kuntze's next door" in conversation. 😉 Reminds of the skit Dave Chapelle did, I cannot mention it here. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whofan Posted August 7, 2021 Share Posted August 7, 2021 1 hour ago, Neil.C said: Not a company name but we used to have neighbours whose surname was Kuntze. I used to quite enjoy mentioning "the Kuntze's next door" in conversation. 😉 There's a great book (my opnion, if course) which I've read many times since I bought it, called Help I am being held prisoner, by Donald E. Westlake. The hero is named Kunt - with an umlaut. The book follows his adventures in prison. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelh Posted August 7, 2021 Share Posted August 7, 2021 On 8/6/2021 at 5:33 PM, Graham Boak said: Spirit is another word for ghost in English too. Indeed but obviously it carried an extra cadence in that market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treker_ed Posted August 10, 2021 Author Share Posted August 10, 2021 Picked up from an article on the BBC about weird and wonderful British place names ( https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2wQdX4yYp6G0X6PVQjpYP40/the-best-and-most-eccentric-towns-across-the-uk-according-to-mark-steel?xtor=CS8-1000-[Promo_Box]-[News_Promo]-[News_Promo]-[BBC_DEFAULT~N~~P_MarkSteelsinTown] ) For a while everyone in Northampton knew the sign outside the hospital that said “Family planning advice – use rear entrance.” 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Ian- Posted August 15, 2021 Share Posted August 15, 2021 1 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treker_ed Posted August 16, 2021 Author Share Posted August 16, 2021 (edited) This has got to the ultimate UK road trip..... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-58229967 WI censor tea towels etc with rude place names: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-34196691 Mapmakers celebrate rude place name of the world: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-38078622 Edited August 16, 2021 by treker_ed 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhoenixII Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-34196691 Not going to mention what the one in Cumbria's called by the locals............. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted August 17, 2021 Share Posted August 17, 2021 I put this one up in another thread some time go, but it's worth repeating here; Ahh, that's a relief. 17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPuente54 Posted August 17, 2021 Share Posted August 17, 2021 @Bullbasket a good one, it does mean; A good drive" in English. A good example of how far English and German have changed in several centuries. Joe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moggy Posted August 18, 2021 Share Posted August 18, 2021 When I moved here 36 years ago there still existed some old-standard Swedish traffic signs out in the boonies. My favourite was the speed-limit one: the one I remember was "50 fart" - "fart" is the Swedish word for "speed" Cheers, Moggy 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stef N. Posted September 14, 2021 Share Posted September 14, 2021 Manchester United are playing in an interestingly named stadium tonight. Home of the Young Boys too. 😯😀 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janneman36 Posted September 14, 2021 Share Posted September 14, 2021 Did someone ever went through this town.... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranus,_Missouri#/media/File:Uranus_Missouri_Watertower.jpg once saw a program about the south of the states and they really asked the people how life was in Uranus....strangely everybody was quite positive🤔 Anyway that is probably why pirates have black flags 🏴☠️ cheers, Jan 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiny Posted September 17, 2021 Share Posted September 17, 2021 On 15/07/2021 at 21:22, Stef N. said: I'm not sure if this is inappropriate or just a terrible name for a hairdressers in Letchworth. It's not one you can forget so maybe it's a good one?!🤔😀 Don't usually look in the chat section but was a bit bored tonight and saw this. They have a branch in Hertford too, unfortunately first time I noticed it there was a lampost in the way covering the S. In the meantime, here's a company I came across at work: https://www.fart-neon.com/en/about-us-pkv1/company-history/ Sadly they seem to have realised the English meaning and added a slash in there, but I like the old pictures of the factory with the company name in big neon lights (there was a picture of it at night but it seems to have disappeared now). 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeC Posted September 18, 2021 Share Posted September 18, 2021 Many years ago, I had a work colleague, Mr Hall, whose first name was Albert. Best of it was, he was a former Royal Marine, so he had been Royal Albert Hall. 1 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Ian- Posted September 20, 2021 Share Posted September 20, 2021 (edited) Up until a few years ago there used to be a wine merchants in Bromsgrove with the slightly unusual but otherwise perfectly innocuous name of Noble Rot. Thanks to the local wags however, it's sign looked like this: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edited September 20, 2021 by -Ian- 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AV O Posted September 20, 2021 Share Posted September 20, 2021 (edited) As we are on aeroplane modelling forum, this one is spot on : http://www.aeronautic.dk/A340-600 Airbus House Color.htm When the door is open : Edited September 21, 2021 by AV O 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Ian- Posted October 2, 2021 Share Posted October 2, 2021 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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