List of rude place names in Britain

A book called "Rude Britain" was out yesterday. It's an illustrated list of the 100 rudest place names in Britain. For the UK-challenged, some of the names may not seem very rude to you.

They have omitted names that were once rude but are no longer, such as Grape St, which was a prostitutes' haunt for centuries, and is short for Gropec**t Lane. There was another in the East End, and in my own Borough of Southwark (pronounced "BUR-rah of SUTH-erk", where the "th" is voiced as in "then") there is a Horselydown Lane near Tower Bridge...supposedly it's a contraction of "whores-lie-down". Southwark was known up until the 19th century as a den of iniquity, due to its many theatres, actors, and inns.

( The list is behind the cut to spare your blushes. Probably not safe for work if your boss looks over your shoulder. )

On the subject of "Frisco"

In another venue, we've been discussing city names and phrases that set one's teeth on edge (such as "across the Pond", used to refer to that great Atlantic Ocean that separates "our American cousins" from "us Limeys"). Someone mentioned that the City of San Francisco is never referred to as "Frisco" by any of the denizens thereof; it's always "The City" (always capitalised, even in speech!). Another guy contributed this:

Years ago, back in the Hippie Era, I was driving my '48 Chevy panel truck west from KC, headed for San Fran (I knew not to call it 'Frisco') and then up to Portland and Seattle. Crossing the Rockies I picked up a hitchhiker (I should make the hitchhiker a gorgeous woman, maybe even a redhead, but in reality it was another hippie road bum dude not unlike myself).

"When he answered the de rigueure hitchhiking question 'Where ya headed?' with the single word 'Frisco', I was so overjoyed to have company for the whole trip that I stifled myself from saying something like, 'Y'know, they really don't like it when ya call it "Frisco"'.

"Well, it would have been moot, because about 40 miles down (or up, as it were) the road, he said, 'OK, here's where I'm going!', and sure enough, there was the sign announcing the town of Frisco, COLORADO!!"