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

3

@SweetCharities

2

1 isn't a word

you mean criminal offence which you jolly well know

No, OP means a “fence” as in a criminal who deals in stolen goods. I have police in my family and friends and it is a commonly used word to describe this criminal activity.

3

3

I was thinking of antimicassars only the other day. It’s an excellent word. Wouldn’t be surprised by younger people not knowing it though, not really around much nowadays!

3

Reloaded I have an accidental antimacassar. Lovely small blanket over one arm of sofa. Never moved or used as blanket. Is right where my head is if I lie prone watching tv. I don’t use Macassar oil and wash hair daily but this must be deep antimacasser echo of some sort.

If fence is dated what is that person called nowadays, I can't think of another name I've ever heard them referred to as.

I think I'm 3) but I might be wrong with my understanding of fence... as in fenced goods? Does it kind of mean they have been acquired illegally and then sold as if they they were bona fide? Or something more specific, like stolen to order?

@Ch3rish

If fence is dated what is that person called nowadays, I can't think of another name I've ever heard them referred to as.

I think it's probably more a case of most theft being electronic these days - money transfer fraud, identity theft and so on. Fewer criminals will be following the 'traditional' route of stealing physical goods and needing a fence to dispose of them, so the concept is moving towards obsolescence.

I think I’d probably just say “someone buying and selling stolen goods”.

Antimaccasar so called (apparently) because it stopped hair oil called Macassar from staining seats!

I think either you’re a crime drama watcher or a period drama watcher hence why most know one or the other . I’m a crime drama watcher and a historical fiction reader

Or a game player as you have to visit a fence in Red Dead Redemption!

If fence is dated what is that person called nowadays, I can't think of another name I've ever heard them referred to as.
Where I'm from scally, scruff, thief, robbing git.

I know what an antimacassar is. I've heard the word "fence" in reference to a criminal but wouldn't be 100% sure what it meant

3 - both.

@ThePricklySheep

I think I’d probably just say “someone buying and selling stolen goods”.

Never use one word when six will do, eh?

1

3

Here is a clip of the word antimacassar being used in a modern setting.

drive.google.com/file/d/1FKvypG77l-DRJB4uWf72UU8neaT5pGbF/view?usp=drivesdk

1, but I watch a LOT of crime dramas.

I just had to look up what an antimacassar is.

1

3

Antimacassars are quite niche now I suppose? Though we probably need some, considering the gunk that DH styles his hair with.

Used to be called a chairback when I was a child, and quite common, as most men would use Brylcreem to keep their hair neat. Denis Compton advertised it.