The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #100751   Message #2029793
Posted By: GUEST,Nicholas Waller
19-Apr-07 - 06:07 AM
Thread Name: BS: Silliest Name for a City....
Subject: RE: BS: Silliest Name for a City....
Chew Magna is a Somerset village near me. I once drove through Ae, in Scotland, which is odd but not that silly.

May I recommend "The Meaning of Liff" by Douglas "Hitchhiker" Adams and John Lloyd (producer of Blackadder). It's a small dictionary-style book that takes placenames and gives them suitable definitions. It appears to be online though I don't know how legit that is.

I like
ABILENE (adj.) Descriptive of the pleasing coolness on the reverse side of the pillow.
GOOSNARGH (n.) Something left over from preparing or eating a meal, which you store in the fridge despite the fact that you know full well you will never ever use it.
SCRABSTER (n.) One of those dogs which has it off on your leg during tea.
ULLAPOOL (n.) The spittle which builds up on the floor of the Royal Opera House.
WIMBLEDON (n.) That last drop which, no matter how much you shake it, always goes down your trouser leg.

A Mudcat-relevant example:
MELLON UDRIGLE (n.) The ghastly sound made by traditional folksingers. (It is, like the others, a real place.)