Letter to Rebecca #25-09
Cryptic clues, film flippancy, terrible torture, naughty nicknames
Did you know that
and I write a letter on Substack to each other on Wednesdays? Well, we do, and this is the latest one from me to her. Read on for a jolly good chortle and a bit of brain-stretching.Well, hello there, Rebecca! Once again it is my pleasure to reply to your recent epistle.
Crossword clues
I was very impressed with your explanation of how you arrived at the cryptic crossword clue I set you. In retaliation return you sent me this one:
Spooner’s settlement ten cents for break from work (8)
Well, I have to tell you, Becks, I can never solve Spooner clues. I know how they work, but I can never seem to do them. As I’m sure you know, Dr Spooner used to confuse the first letters of words. There’s a story, probably apocryphal, in which he arranges to meet a friend in a pub called The Green Man, in Dulwich, but ends up looking for a pub called The Dull Man, in Greenwich.
Anyway, I worked out half of the clue: ten cents = dime. However, I’m afraid I cheated and looked up the answer, which is downtime. The reason is as follows:
Settlement = town
Ten cents = dime
As those two answers are supposed to form one 8 letter word, we get Towndime. However, this is Spooner we’re talking about, so we switch the first letters of those two words. Thus:
Town = down
Dime - time
= downtime
Phew!
Another puzzle
As a break from cryptic crossword clues, here are two film-related questions for you.
Which film ends with the words, “Nobody’s perfect”, and what was the context?
What’s the name of the song, featured in a film, in which the singer bemoans the fact that although he loves dancing with his girlfriend, she lives on the twentieth floor of a block of flats and the lift has broken down, so he has to spend a few days in bed because of his aching feet. The song ends, before the refrain, with the words “You’ll find my corpse draped over a rail.” What’s the name of the song, who sang it, and what was the name of the film it appeared in? <Snigger>
A self-inflicted form of torture
Speaking of corpses, I’ve been going to the gym. The following pictures show what I’m like going home aftterwards, and what is likely to happen in the not-too-distant future at this rate:
Street names
Thanks for sharing the explanation regarding the possible origin of the name Chamberlain Street. Street names are fascinating, aren’t they? In London we have such names as :
1. Bleeding Heart Yard (Holborn)
Named after a 16th-century inn with a sign showing the Virgin Mary’s heart pierced by swords; also linked to a gruesome 1626 murder legend involving Lady Hatton.
2. Turnagain Lane (near Farringdon)
Named because the buried River Fleet made it necessary to “turn again” as there was no bridge here before the 18th century.
3. Hanging Sword Alley (off Fleet Street)
Once home to a fencing school; later known as Blood Bowl Alley after a notorious drinking den for thieves and gamblers.
4. Knightrider Street (near St Paul’s Cathedral)
Likely named for knights who rode here for jousting tournaments in medieval times.
5. Little Britain
Named after Robert le Bretoun, a Frenchman who owned property here in the 1200s, not a patriotic reference.
6. Mincing Lane
From the medieval word “mynchen” meaning nuns; the street’s houses were once owned by nuns of St Helen’s church.
7. Pudding Lane
Named for butchers transporting offal (“pudding”) to the river; famous as the starting point of the Great Fire of London in 1666.
8. St Mary Axe
Named after a lost church possibly containing an axe linked to Attila the Hun or a tavern sign with an axe.
9. Wardrobe Place
Where King Edward III kept his royal wardrobe; the building was destroyed in the Great Fire.
10. Of Alley (former name, now York Place)
Named after George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, who insisted streets on his former land bear his name or titles.
11. Adam and Eve Court
Named after a tavern famous for putting on mystery plays.
12. Annie Besant Close
Named for the socialist and activist who organized Bryant and May match factory workers.
13. Arabia Hill
Named after T.E. Lawrence (“Lawrence of Arabia”), who camped nearby.
14. Elf Row
Originally Elm Row, renamed as a joke because it led to East London Hospital.
15. Parfour Drive
A playful name created by reversing “Fourpa” from a former golf course.
16. Cock Lane
Likely had a bawdy medieval meaning; famous for an 18th-century ghost hoax that attracted crowds.
17. Frying Pan Alley (Spitalfields)
Named after metalworkers who hung cast-iron frying pans outside their shops as trade signs.
18. Savage Gardens
Named after a family called Savage who owned property here in medieval times.
19. Shoulder of Mutton Alley
Named after the shape of the alley or a former tavern sign.
20. Crutched Friars
Named after an order of friars who wore crosses (“crutches”) on their habits.
I garnered all that from an AI app called Perplexity.ai. I find it better than Google for searching for information. Do you use AI at all?
Mini-break
Your photos looked lovely. I could do with a break myself. I will be spending a week at the seaside beside the sea soon. I have drawn a picture to illustrate this:
Teachers’ nicknames
Not related to anything we’ve been chatting about, have you ever thought about teachers’ nicknames, and how cruel kids can be? When I was at school, we had a teacher with a limp, so he was called Peg Leg. There was one with a glass eye: Bog Eye. The ferocious deputy head was Mr Nicholls, but to us he was Old Nick. And there was a teacher who used to growl at the students, and when he strode down the corridor his academic gown would flap behind him. His nickname? Dracula.
I am pleased to report that I, too, had a nickname. I discovered it one day when I had had to take my car in for a service, thereby necessitating my travelling to and from the school by bus. I was something of a disciplinarian, so I was delighted to espy the following scrawled on the bus stop outside the school:
Hitler Freedman must go.
And on that note, Becks, I shall love you and leave you. To anyone reading this missive, you can see the whole archive here. Rebecca should reply next Wednesday, so make sure you don’t miss that by subscribing to hers.
Thanks for reading!
Yours chortlingly,
Terry
You’re having fun with your art. Very cute. Particularly the cat. 🐱
Regarding your questions one and two: How old ARE you anyway? Man, you went way back for these two references. I am embarrassed to admit that I ...ahem... recognized them both. I can still hear Cochrane singing, "... one flight, two flights, three flights, four!" and doing a dance called "the bop"! I was about 14 or so. Lot of water under the bridge since those days...