Brantridge Brantrindge Barntrindge Barntridge: Herbert (Rainford) Towning and the Pujol clan

Four mentions, four spellings in Crónica Global’s piece about a British tub in the Pujol clan’s money laundry. This dyslexia appears sourced from Antonio Fernández’s new book, Pujol & Puig, which mixes the forms “Brantridge” and “Brandtridge”. CG follows the Spanish practice of assuming that foreigners also have two surnames, and refers to “Herbert Arthur…

Dutch words that sound obscene in English

Cock/Kok: family name. Also kok: cook, coccus. Re David Cameron’s #piggate laddishness, British Labour MP Emily Thornberry has posted a pack of pickled smoked cut beef (not pork) marketed under a brand of Darwin Award-worthy stupidity, Cock’s Fresh. De Cock is the family name and the products are preserved, not fresh. If you tell a…

Brown Shit hair dye

Caca Marron: Solid Henna: Turn brown into amburn with a shine like fresh conkers: Vegan: Some of you will probably get off on Polkadot Lily smearing Lush brown shit into her hair: They also do Black Shit, known in the trade as the Guinness look. H/t Manolo A.

Wurst is German for sausage

Wrust is a Spanish speciality and a Botswanan all-black metal band: Did they intend to call themselves sausage? How strong is the residual regional influence of German South-West Africa, not to mention boerewors camp? More namby-pamby posturing from Gaborone: A very shy black friend once became the lead singer of a moderately good all-white Leeds…

Joan de Son Rapinya: English lesson no. 1

There’s a clever name for phonetic language parodies which I have forgotten because it’s hot and I have been undergoing ye notorious Spanish wine torture: Shades of Maria Luisa Puche, the undisputed champion. My favourite one actually makes more sense than the poésie concrète I wrote for a political campaign some years ago and is…