The Word Nerd and the Inner Thirteen-Year-Old Meet Again: Place Names

Best article of the Day:

Facebook Doesn't Recognize Town With Seemingly Offensive Name

Highlights:

“I’m a proud Effin woman,” said Kennedy, who is keen to connect with former residents. “There are other Effin people around the world, and they want to put down that Effin is their home town.”

and:

The British Isles are littered with towns with seemingly offensive names, potentially paving a difficult path for online gatekeepers trying to stamp out vulgar language.

Appealing to a nation’s voracious appetite for puerile humor, Rob Bailey and Ed Hurst, the authors of the books “Rude UK” and “Rude Britain,” have compiled hundreds of names of places here that could be considered crass or boorish or just plain funny, including Crapstone, Slack Bottom, Golden Balls, Knob Field, Badgers Mount, Penistone, Foulridge and Ugley. (Of this random list, the last three are available as hometown options on Facebook.)

While the fondness here for double-entendres can’t be exaggerated enough, the names of many “rude” places date back hundreds of years to a time when no one would have sniggered at their mention, according to Bailey and Hurst. Foulridge, for instance, can be traced back to 1219 and alludes to “the place where fouls graze.” Pratt’s Bottom reportedly once referred to the bottom of the hill where the Pratt family lived.

Hee.

I believe I speak here not just for myself, but for all my British ancestors and our "puerile humor" when I say: Come on, Facebook. Give these people an Effin break.

(Wait, was that the right word order?)

Word Nerd Note: The word "puerile" comes from the Latin word "pueriliīs," which means "childish." Which comes from the word "puer," which means "child," or "boy."

So now, when people chide you for laughing at "Slack Bottom," tell them it's okay. Because you're learning Latin. And how did they expand THEIR vocabularies today?