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Favorite Town names
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: Haruo Date: 11 May 02 - 01:00 AM BillR wrote "In Michigan where I grew up there is both a Hell and a Paradise." This conflicts with what I was taught in Sunday School. I know the dead go to Michigan, but I was taught that the wicked dead went to Ypsilanti and the redeemed to Kalamazoo. Liland |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: Haruo Date: 11 May 02 - 01:23 AM Bill Kennedy's mention of Eek, Alaska, gave me two divergent thoughts. One is that my roommate's name is Verne Eke, which people always try to pronounce "Eek" though it's actually "eck", from the Swedish (in which it had a slight vowel sound after the k, dropped in anglicization). And, to avoid thread drift, the other thought was the odd town name Unalaska, Alaska (in the Aleutian Islands). On the other hand in Washington State we have an Onalaska, Washington, which sounds like an intercollegiate dog-racing cheer, to contrast with the University of Washington's "Mush, Huskies!" ("mush" here being Chinook Jargon for "go!", from the French "marche"). And speaking of Chinook Jargon, how about La Push, Washington, the capital of the Quileute Nation. "La Push" is Chinook Jargon for "mouth" (of a river), the "Push" part being from French "bouche". On the other hand, La Conner, Washington, just across from the Swinomish Rez (mostly Skagit people), which looks like it ought to have a similar Chinook Jargon etymology, is actually named for its first postmistress, Mrs. L. A. Conner, wife of the town's founder. Liland |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: mack/misophist Date: 11 May 02 - 01:56 AM Why has no one mentioned Chicken, Alaska; which was going to be called Ptarmigan except that no one could spell it? |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: rea Date: 11 May 02 - 02:37 AM Well, there's Nag's Head, NC - so called cuz bandits would hang a lanter on a nag's head to lure ships in.... And there's Gumstump PA And I like Roaringfork, CO And in durham county, where I grew up, there was an Efland, which I thought was Elfland, until I really read the sign. Oh, and Banner Elk, NC. Yup, North Carolinia, born and bred. :) "M a tarheel. |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: rea Date: 11 May 02 - 02:40 AM sorry to double post - but i completely forgot the ones i meant to write down. From Carl Sandburg's Rootabaga story, "How six pigeons came back to hatrack the horse after many accidents and six telegrams," three of the pigeons are named after towns: Chattanooga (mom and grandmom born there!), Chickamauga,and Chatahoochee. not sure on the spelling. y'all should read the stories, tho. the doubled rea. |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: Haruo Date: 11 May 02 - 02:41 AM Has the globalization (note "z") of American culture reached the point where the extraneous (sic) folks reading this here thread have an idea what CO or AR or NH means? Liland |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: Bert Date: 11 May 02 - 03:09 AM Sometimes it's the names you grew up with, that looking back are quite funny. In London there's Turnham Green, Tooting, Barking, Clapham, King's Cross, Wapping, Cockfosters and Upney. My favourite of all time is Much Hadham in Essex. Then there's Mousehole (pronounced Mouzel) in Cornwall and Messing and Mucking, both of which I think are in Essex. |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: Angie Date: 11 May 02 - 05:01 AM My Mother nearly crashed her car with laughing while on her way to Glastonbury,she passed a sign for the town of 'Bawdrip'....teehee. |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: Celtic Soul Date: 11 May 02 - 08:32 AM Liland, if I had the wherewithal, I'd look up and link to the thread wherein all the postal code abbreviations for the US were posted. Instead, I'll be a techno-eejit and repost here below. I'd like to point out that there are quite a lot of UK and Canadian abbreviations one can find on threads here as well, and many of us from the US have no idea what they mean either. In my mind, aint nothing but a thang. Alabama = AL, Alaska = AK, Arizona = AZ, Arkansas = AR, California = CA, Colorado = CO, Connecticut = CT, Delaware = DE, Dist. of Columbia = DC, Florida = FL, Georgia = GA, Guam = GU, Hawaii = HI, Idaho = ID, Illinois = IL, Indiana = IN, Iowa = IA, Kansas = KS, Kentucky = KY, Louisiana = LA, Maine = ME, Maryland = MD, Massachusetts = MA, Michigan = MI, Minnesota = MN, Mississippi = MS, Missouri = MO, Montana = MT, Nebraska = NE, Nevada = NV, New Hampshire = NH, New Jersey = NJ, New Mexico = NM, New York = NY, North Carolina = NC, North Dakota = ND, Ohio = OH, Oklahoma = OK, Oregon = OR, Pennsylvania = PA, Puerto Rico = PR, Rhode Island = RI, South Carolina = SC, South Dakota = SD, Tennessee = TN, Texas = TX, Utah = UT, Vermont = VT, Virginia = VA, Virgin Islands = VI, Washington = WA, West Virginia = WV, Wisconsin = WI, Wyoming = WY |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: Leeder Date: 11 May 02 - 02:07 PM Not a town, but there's Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump here in Alberta. Dave Barry mentioned it in a column: he was intrigued by the person answering the phone with "Head-Smashed-In, can I help you?" |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: Haruo Date: 11 May 02 - 02:45 PM If it's not a town what is it? (Trying to imagine why a buffalo jump would have a phone.) ;-) Liland |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 11 May 02 - 06:03 PM bert mentions Much Hadham, but there's also, a mile or so away, Little Hadham (where there's a pub called The Nag's Head, which seems strangely appropriate...). Together they are referred to (and signposted as) "The Hadhams".
But, in this part of the world anyay, I think my favourite place name is Shellow Bowells. |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: Gareth Date: 11 May 02 - 07:09 PM Well there was "Sodem and Ghomorra (SP) in the Ryhmney Valley in South Wales, now bowdlerised to "Pontlotyn", which translates to "Lot's Bridge". And then there's "Bethlehem" in West Wales, a dozen houses, a post office (which does a roaring trade in Christmas Cards each December), and of course a chapel. In the Forest of Dean there is "English Bicknor" and "Welsh Bicknor" seperated by Offa's Dyke. In the Cotswolds, just of the A40 we have "Upper" and "Lower Slaughter", and hard by Tetbury "Troublehouse" Gareth |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: Snuffy Date: 11 May 02 - 07:13 PM Not forgetting Chipshop in Devon |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 11 May 02 - 07:44 PM "Cold Christmas" and "Good Easter" near us. |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: Gray D Date: 11 May 02 - 08:08 PM Gareth, How could you omit "Splott" in Cardiff? The anme describes the place omomatoepaic . . . omomatopaicall . . . onomato . . . perfectly. |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: Gray D Date: 11 May 02 - 08:11 PM So does the name. |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: nosluap57 Date: 12 May 02 - 12:27 AM Zap, North Dakota Gun Barrel City, Texas Wahoo, Nebraska Flin Flon, Manitoba |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: Genie Date: 12 May 02 - 01:39 AM Bird Widder, I love that headline! Here in Oregon we have "Boring" and "Greed." Liland, Your mention of Humptulips reminds me of a town sign I always used to see when driving on certain New York state roads: Coxsackie (sp?) And then there's Coalingua, California. Genie |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: Haruo Date: 12 May 02 - 03:20 AM In a different vein, I am intrigued somehow by places with names like City of Industry, California and Young America, Minnesota. The first one evokes images of Welcome signs with slogans like CITY OF INDUSTRY "All of Our Parks Are Industrial Parks! (I suppose there are people who would be eager to live in such an industrious township. The second sounds like a place where, when you reach 30, you have to move to Lake Havasu. Liland |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: John MacKenzie Date: 12 May 02 - 05:52 AM Always remember that the Isle of Man, is along way from the Virgin Islands!! Let's not forget that famous pub, The Cock, Welwyn, Herts.[ NB Welwyn is pronounced well-in, for those who do not know] Rum, Eigg, Muck, & Canna......Giok |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: GUEST,philh (whos cookie won't reset!) Date: 12 May 02 - 06:06 AM there's a village called loose in Kent, they have a female morris side called 'loose women' Phil |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: Liz the Squeak Date: 12 May 02 - 06:08 AM It's Nebneth Thrubwell in Somerset, but Dorset has a fair few too! Throop - a cross between thrush and whooping cough? Swyre - another condition sheep get? Puncknowle - pronounced Punnel, but very popular in the punk era of the 1970s. Ryme Intrinsica, Whitchurch Canonicorum, Toller Porcorum and Kingsbury Episcopi have a classic ring to them.... spot which one used to be called Swine... Then there's the entire Piddle Valley, with Piddlehinton (bit rattly), Piddletrenthide, Affpuddle, Tolpuddle and Puddletown, some of which used to be Honeypiddle, Piddletown and Affpiddle. The Piddle is also called the Trent, an old English word for very small river or stream. LTS
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: tooligan Date: 12 May 02 - 11:08 AM I used to live in the Fife, Scotland village called Auchtertool and its neighbouring hamlet of Puddledub |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: GUEST,Genie (no cookies for me today--on a diet) Date: 12 May 02 - 03:18 PM Liz, I think that Ryme Intrinsica could be a sister to Limerick, PA, with its Limerick Generating Station. Puddletown, BTW, is one of Portland, Oregon's nicknames. Genie |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: Penny S. Date: 12 May 02 - 05:03 PM There's Ready Token, near Cirencester (aka Cissiter, Cister, Ciren). The people my parents bought from, and the locals with Wessex accents use Ciren (that's a C as in city, with a trace of Z). The people around the RAF station my cousin served at above Stroud used Cister. The people who know how things ought to be pronounced use, or used Cissiter, written Ciceter. There's a Jumpers' Town, near Tunbridge Wells - looks as though it might be one of the odd settlements from the twenties from the map. And I think there's another thread, long back, with Ugley and Loose and so on. Penny
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: RolyH Date: 12 May 02 - 05:54 PM Six Mile Bottom in Cambridgeshire. |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: Snuffy Date: 12 May 02 - 06:37 PM I've always heard it as Zoiren, Penny |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: Gareth Date: 12 May 02 - 07:00 PM Talk about coincidence Gray D (post 08.08.) There I was in a basic working class pub (but good resturant) in the blaenau twixt Rhymney and Tredegar this lunchtime. In comes a 'Yuppie type', obviously well lost, trying to find his way back to the main road, and asked for directions to Cardiff. "Well where in Kair-diff is you heading for?" "Splow" "WHERE ?" says the bar in chorus "Splow, near Cardiff Bay" "Oh! You mean Splott " "We don't call it Splott - its Splow" Instinct cut in, collectivelly directions were given. If the "Plastic E Type Englishman" followed them correctly he shoud be lost, somwhere near Fishgard. Dew - The Yuppification of Splott, well words fail me ! Gareth ( And if ljc can post in dialect then I can Glossary - Kair-diff = South Wales pronounciation of Cardiff. Dew = God. blaenau = hills and high ground, the back of beyond. Plastic E Type Englishman = see Max Boyce's tale of "Our Little Valley", or use yer iomagination. Fishgard = about as far west as you can get in Wales, before you start drinking Guiness !
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: Ian Darby Date: 12 May 02 - 07:32 PM There's a book called 'The Meaning of Liff', I think its by Richard Adams (God bless 'im) and one of his mates. It's all about imaginary meanings for U.K. place names. 'Norton Thrubwell' is given as the feeling of satisfaction experienced when driving off on a new motorbike, and a 'Stebbing' is apparently the correct name for an unwanted erection. 'Whetwang'; A moist penis. Try and get hold of this book....
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 12 May 02 - 07:40 PM Here it is online anyway - "The Meaning of Liff" |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: Ian Darby Date: 12 May 02 - 08:17 PM Mc Grath, Thanks mate, I lent my copy out ages ago, never got it back. What a great bloke, you're my best mate etc.... |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: Haruo Date: 13 May 02 - 03:20 AM William Auld, arguably the greatest living Esperanto poet (as well as the translator of The Lord of the Rings) lives in Dollar, Scotland. I've often wondered if it's a monetary unit the place was named, or what? (I know you British folk used to have a lot of odd monetary units. For all I know "Jack fell down and broke his crown" means he was the richer by two half-crowns.) Liland |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: KingBrilliant Date: 13 May 02 - 05:13 AM I was born in Maidenhead, Berks (uk) Kris |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: Nigel Parsons Date: 13 May 02 - 05:14 AM Liland: Breaking his crown (in the terms you use) would make him neither richer nor poorer. A Crown was a 5 shilling piece(5*12 i.e. 60 old pence), and a half crown was 2 shillings and 6 pence (i.e.30 old pence). 4 crowns made 20 shillings, which was a pound. Nigel |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: gnomad Date: 13 May 02 - 06:42 AM Hardly towns, but there is a hamlet in Lincolnshire called Mavis Enderby, one in E.Yorks called Land of Nod, and my personal favourite, a village down in the Welsh marches called Upton Snodsbury. Eat yer hearts out Kirbygrindalythe and Muker. |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: GUEST,Geordie Date: 13 May 02 - 10:35 AM There are some very melodic ones in Nova Scotia..Sissiboo, Mushaboom, Tidnish, Tatamagouche, Tipover Lake, Head of St. Margaret, Chimney Corner,Conquerall Bank, Musquash and my favourite..Lower Economy, which ought to be the Capital City. |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: Jerry Rasmussen Date: 13 May 02 - 10:53 AM I dunno, you Brits seem to have a major edge on us Amuricans when it comes to town names. How about some names that roll off your tongue... In Illinois, Keokuk and Kankakee (I used Kankakee in a song, just because I like the way it feels, saying it.) Or Boscobel and Baraboo, in Wisconsin? I always liked the sound of Waxahatchie, too. I don't remember what state it's in, but Paul Richards, a baseball pitcher who became a General Manager in the big leagues was from Waxahatchie. He was ambidextrous and pitched and won both games of a double header in the minors, pitching right handed in one game, and left handed in the other. Baseball players sometimes had colorful names based on the town they came from. My favorite was Vinegar Bend Mizelle. Jerry |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: Dave Bryant Date: 13 May 02 - 11:02 AM Mrs Duck has already mentioned PRATTS BOTTOM which is just down the road from me (between Bromley and Sevenoaks). There's also a TITSEY HILL down towards Westerham. A (not very bright) lass that we knew came from a village near Rochester. People would often rib her by asking her where she lived. When she answered "HOO", they would answer "You of course - where do you live ?". This could go round several times before she'd realise that it was a wind-up. I used to drive regularly along a road that had a sign to "Styants Bottom" - if I ever find out who altered that sign......... |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: GUEST Date: 13 May 02 - 12:13 PM Polly's Joke...Cornwall |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: Trevor Date: 13 May 02 - 12:19 PM I live in Ratlinghope. Just down the road is Pillocksgreen. The signpost that I like, near Much Wenlock, is to Wigwig and Homer. Also, there's a sign on the A5 near Nesscliffe, to Felton Butler and Wilcote Marsh, who just have to be Agatha Christie villains! |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: ard mhacha Date: 13 May 02 - 01:19 PM Our local Town scrounger`s two favourite Towns, Crook [Durham] and Barrow[Lancashire]. Ard Mhacha. |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: Haruo Date: 13 May 02 - 04:30 PM How about counties? In Washington we have Wahkiakum and Skamania (a mental disorder?), and of course Walla Walla. And à propos of "Keokuk and Kankakee" we have the various places named in Carlton Fitchett's Ode to Puget Sound (memo to self: gotta change that title tag); approximate pronunciations are Tulalip - tuh LAY lipLiland |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: Tinker Date: 13 May 02 - 08:04 PM In Western Massachusetts one can find the town of Ware. Which inevidably (sp??) leads to countless locational questions. Tinker |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: toribw Date: 13 May 02 - 08:29 PM In Texas, there are Comfort, Utopia, Ozona; California has Rough and Ready. Jerry, Waxahatchie is in Texas, near Dallas. |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: toribw Date: 13 May 02 - 08:29 PM In Texas, there are Comfort, Utopia, Ozona; California has Rough and Ready. Jerry, Waxahatchie is in Texas, near Dallas. |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: GUEST,BEENTHERE Date: 13 May 02 - 09:01 PM RE: .... near ONE of the THREE Needmores in Indiana! The one in question is more or less between Columbus and Nashville--Indiana. Then there's another Needmore near Terre Haute, and yet another in the northern part of the state. an old trick used by map makers is to put a town or creek of of the same name in different parts of the state for copyright purposes!
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: Jerry Rasmussen Date: 13 May 02 - 09:36 PM toribw: Thanks for the reminder. Never been there, but I always liked the sound of the name. Jerry |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: richlmo Date: 13 May 02 - 11:51 PM In 30 minutes or so I can drive to Rock Rest, Wind-Blow, Old Hundred, Big Lick, Black Ankle, Roughedge or Finger. I could just as easily visit Shiloh, Houston, Palestine or even Cairo. I'll admit none of these are what you could call towns, but each has a state sign letting you know when you get there.( When you leave is usually on the other side of the post!) . I'm sure there is a very interesting history to go along with all of the names. |
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Subject: RE: Favorite Town names From: Haruo Date: 14 May 02 - 01:18 AM Is Rough and Ready, California, one place, or are Rough, California, and Ready, California, two places? (toribw?) Liland |
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