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

3 but I'm old.

I remember using a 'bottom drawer' in conversation with my ex (as an analogy I think, I'm not that old, and he was

So another one - would you know what I meant if I talked about someone planning their marriage having a bottom drawer.

3

serin singlet - that took me back to an infants’ school assembly where the northern headmistress sternly told us all that boys were not allowed to wear singlets. Very few of us knew what this meant. Cue lots of huddled confused discussions in the playground. Most of us little girls thought it was some ‘dirty, unspoken, boy thing’ and didn’t think we had ever seen a ‘singlet’. I don’t even think I asked my parents what one was - I was convinced it was ‘shameful’ somehow.

1

4

Singlet is still in common use surely? I run in a singlet all summer

3, and I had a 'bottom drawer'

I am old

I would never use singlet..vest covers it.

Both

I know bottom drawer too. I really am feeling old this morning

In fact, I had a bottom drawer. There wasn't much in it, but my DGM kept giving me bits for it.

Fence as in someone who sells stolen goods? No idea about the other word

3, but can't really think why they would come up in conversation with friends.

I had a moving out bottom drawer

3

@pinkhappy

You don't have weird vocab, you need more learned friends. grin

It is weirdly disconcerting to see the blank look on people’s faces locally when I ask them what fence means. From this thread it seems most people do know the word so now it’s even stranger!

Surely the strange looks are because you are asking people you barely know odd questions.

Do they think you are LOOKING for a fence?

1

4

@Ginfordinner

Trains used to have antimacassars on the seat backs when I was little.

Off to Google criminal fence.

And airplane seats! Though I think the Macassar disappeared long before commercial flying was a thing.

I think anyone who reads old British crime fiction (dark green penguin books are my weakness) would know what a fence was guv’nor.

1

4

I Googled antimacassars because didn't know the word but my Nan used to have those on her furniture! Aww

Do they think you are LOOKING for a fence?grin

Yes I did wonder about that :)

4

3 - I don't think they are regional terms