''Rude Britain'' (subtitled ''100 Rudest Place Names in Britain'') is a 2005 book of British place names with seemingly rude or offensive meanings. The book () is written by Rob Bailey and Ed Hurst, and published in the United Kingdom by the

Pan Macmillan Pan Books is a publishing imprint that first became active in the 1940s and is now part of the British-based Macmillan Publishers, owned by the Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group of Germany. Pan Books began as an independent publisher, es ...

imprint Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series * "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror'' * ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film ...

Boxtree. Each of the 100 names chosen by the authors is accompanied by a photograph and a placename

etymology Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...

. The etymologies are often due to Great Britain's history of repeated invasion, occupation, and assimilation, combined with a human predilection for ''

double entendre A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially ...

s''. Entries include North Piddle (from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

word , meaning

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

Pratt's Bottom Pratt's Bottom is a village in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley and, prior to 1965, within the historic county of Kent. It is south of its parent parish of Orpington, lies about 100 metres above sea level and beyond ...

, Ugley, Titty Ho, and

Spital-in-the-Street Spital-in-the-Street is a small hamlet in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated on the A15 road (Roman Ermine Street), north from Lincoln, east from Gainsborough, and north from the A15 and A631 crossroad at Ca ...

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

with a name based on the

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English p ...

, meaning hospital).

References

External links

Publisher's summary of the book
2005 non-fiction books British toponymy British humour Lists of United Kingdom placename etymology Travel guide books Slang British books {{UK-stub