Are maidens or horses unreasonable words?

[Northernlassie27]

My son has moved to uni from the NW to the NE. He told his housemates he's after a maiden as he doesn't have one. They were perplexed then once he had explained told him he should be looking for a horse instead.
Is it unreasonable to use such words nowadays or is it now outdated?

[quote 40weekswithno2]@sophandbridge I've never heard it used like that. We've always called a floor standing clothes airer a clothes dolly and a ceiling hanging one a pulley. [/quote]
Odd isn't it?

I'd have said the dolly was the rotating thing you bash the clothes round with in the tub. And the pulley is a pulley maid - or sheila maid, as that is the best known manufacturer.

The same terms used for different washing implements... wonder how they changed, how far you had to go to hear a difference?

LadyTiredWinterBottom2

I thought he meant gf. When they said horse l thought crikey just someone to ride, bit cold hearted

That’s what I thought too! But then unless the OP’s son has come from the 18th Century, it didn’t really make sense.

Me too lol

[quote 40weekswithno2]@sophandbridge I've never heard it used like that. We've always called a floor standing clothes airer a clothes dolly and a ceiling hanging one a pulley. [/quote]
This is a dolly, my grandmother used one (and a mangle) to do her laundry, I used to be fascinated by it as she did the laundry in the bath with it once a week, I was never allowed in the room so of course I decided it must be something really interesting they were doing when in reality I would have just been under their feet and so a pain in the neck

I've lived in Scotland almost all my life (Perthshire and then North-East) and I've never heard it called a "winter dyke" though I get the analogy.

I've only ever heard it called a clothes horse.

When I read the OP I thought he was looking for a virgin and thought "Whoa, that's a bit outdated".

Hahahaha took me a while and was going to berate him for calling women maidens.

It's a clothes horse or airer in Yorkshire

When I first moved to Aberdeen for College, I had a Glaswegian flatmate and we had great fun comparing the different words for things.
She had never heard of "baffies" for slippers.
I had never heard fizzy juice called "ginger".
Neither of us called a bread roll a "softie".

Aberdonian chip-shop staff were confused by us asking for a "poke" of chips.
All part of life's rich tapestry.

NW here. It’s a maiden in this house.

I've heard of it being called a maiden but have always called it a horse myself. I've lived all over the place.

Never heard it called a maiden. Maiden is an old word for female virgin. Kinda creepy word for something that stands there while you put clothes on and off it.

Me - NW - maiden, barmcake, gunnel.
DH - Midlands - clothes horse, cob, jitty.
These are not the only words we have confused each other with

Maiden where I grew up, though I tend to call it a clothes horse now.

@Skysblue

Never heard it called a maiden. Maiden is an old word for female virgin. Kinda creepy word for something that stands there while you put clothes on and off it.

Do you find Virgin Olive Oil creepy too?

@cushioncovers

Meant to say I've never heard it called a clothes maiden before

Northern expression and used to refer to the one on the ceiling operated by a pulley

@Skysblue I posted earlier about the origins of maidens in this context. Somewhere in the depths of my brain I remember being told that it came from the mills when unmarried women (maidens) did the laundry so the maidens would hang out the washing

East Anglia - I'm after a clothes horse - not a horse as that would imply the four legged long faced animal.

I also originally thought that a maiden was a virgin and his mates were suggesting a horse, someone a bit more experienced!!

@NiceandCalm

East Anglia - I'm after a clothes horse - not a horse as that would imply the four legged long faced animal.

I also originally thought that a maiden was a virgin and his mates were suggesting a horse, someone a bit more experienced!!

Yes, my thoughts on reading it

Not from East Anglia though

Here you go. If you want to while away more time pondering British and Irish regional dialect variations, this is the quiz for you (you have to sign in but I think that's free): NYT British & Irish Dialect Quiz

I'm in Ayrshire and call it winter dykes, never really thought about it before I didn't realise it was a regional thing

Depends on what you propose to do with them. If, boringly, you simply want to air your clothes then say that. Clothes airer.

I'm in Ayrshire and call it winter dykes

Eugh, that's even more misogynistic than the maiden stuff(!)

I clicked thinking he was on about women!

we call them racks- I do like clothes horse though, it feels very old timey

@MistyGreenAndBlue

Me - NW - maiden, barmcake, gunnel. DH - Midlands - clothes horse, cob, jitty. These are not the only words we have confused each other with

that the hell is a jitty I'm in the Midlands and I've never heard of it

Oh come on. Dykes in this context has nothing to do with women, amusing though I do find that idea.

Dykes as a term for lesbians came into popular usage in the 1970s or 80s(?). Dyke meaning ditch or wall to keep out water, is hundreds of years old. Have you never heard the tale of the little Dutch boy who saved the town by sticking his finger in the dyke?

M'y Grandma had a dolly stick like this. She just used it for hanging tea towels on but it was originally for washing clothes.