Rude Britain

Rude Britain (subtitled 100 Rudest Place Names in Britain) is a 2005 book of British place names with seemingly rude or offensive meanings.[1] The book (ISBN 0-7522-2581-2) is written by Rob Bailey and Ed Hurst, and published in the United Kingdom by the Pan Macmillan imprint Boxtree.

Road sign pointing to Twatt, Shetland

Each of the 100 names chosen by the authors is accompanied by a photograph and a placename etymology. The etymologies are often due to Great Britain's history of repeated invasion, occupation, and assimilation, combined with a human predilection for double entendres.

Entries include North Piddle (from the Old English word pidele, meaning marsh), Pratt's Bottom, Ugley, Titty Ho, and Spital-in-the-Street (a hamlet in Lincolnshire with a name based on the Middle English spitel, meaning hospital).

References

Lyall, Sarah (January 22, 2009). "No Snickering: That Road Sign Means Something Else". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-01-23. Ed Hurst, a co-author, with Rob Bailey, of “Rude Britain” and “Rude UK,” which list arguably offensive place names — some so arguably offensive that, unfortunately, they cannot be printed here — said that many such communities were established hundreds of years ago and that their names were not rude at the time.

External links

Publisher's summary of the book

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[1] Lyall, Sarah (January 22, 2009). "No Snickering: That Road Sign Means Something Else". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-01-23. Ed Hurst, a co-author, with Rob Bailey, of “Rude Britain” and “Rude UK,” which list arguably offensive place names — some so arguably offensive that, unfortunately, they cannot be printed here — said that many such communities were established hundreds of years ago and that their names were not rude at the time.