to think I have strange vocab

[pinkhappy]

I recently moved to a new city. I had some new friends round and discovered that not one of them had heard of a (criminal) fence. This is a word that everyone I knew before would have known.

Then I was listening to the radio and they used the word antimacassar which I had never heard of. Turns out everyone in my new city knows it.

So, a poll. Do you know

1. what a (criminal) fence is only

2. what an antimacassar is only

3. both

4. neither

4

But then I'm 65+, which probably helps.

1. I am old and (I think) have an excellent vocabulary but I have never, ever heard the word antimacassar in my life before. I'm surprised so many people know it. But my grandparents and all other elderly relatives were South African and maybe antimacassars weren't a thing out there which is why I've never come across it.

3
This is a brilliant thread - thank you OP!

@SweetCharities

2

1 isn't a word

you mean criminal offence which you jolly well know

I thought to fence meant to look after stolen goods for the thief and to maybe sell them on. To be a fence is to be someone who does this. Doesn't do the thieving but takes the goods afterwards.

It was my use of the words singlet (for vest) and snap (for lunch, miners used to take their lunches in a snap tin) that had my friends befuddled.
I'm from an ex mining village.

I looked up "fence". An interesting origin. Criminals used (use) a middle man to sell on stolen goods as a "defence" from getting caught.

3

I know antimacassar from books only, I feel it's the type of word my parents would have known if I asked them. I now vaguely feel they did tell me. But it had no reason to come up in conversation even in my lifetime (50s)

My gran had moved on to plastic covering !

The charge was receiving stolen goods.

1 I googled antimaccassar so now I do though.

4

I thought she meant there were two groups of people - the first abbreviated 'criminal offence' to fence, or criminal fence. And at the other end of the spectrum were those who knew what antimacassars were.

4

3

I remember antimacassars being in common use, a defence against brillcream in my youth, rather than oil as such, but even then, although people knew the word, I don't think it was used. We said doily (sp?)

3

1 but only from reading / tv. Never used it in this context. I knew antimacassers were something to do with chairs but not exactly what.

Interesting Toorapid.
I remember the doily type thing in a very elderly aunt's place.
I would have been being fed biscuits and barely talking so what to call the million odd old objects in that room didn't come up!

I'm in my 30s, my grannie's sister had antimacassars, I remember the first time someone used the word, I thought it was wonderful - sort of rolls around your mouth

I had to look up antimacassar, it's not in my autocorrect either!! Know fence though. I'm 40 and live in South East.

3

4 a criminal offence I’ve heard of?!

Having googled to know what both those things are - but not the words used for them!

So it would 4 if I heard the words.

3 if I knew the words were used for those meanings

3