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

Weirdly, we talked about antimacassars last week, discussing whether they came about because of hair oils etc.

That's exactly why they came about - to protect furniture from oil slicks from men's hair products.

1

1. But I don’t know many other people who know what an anti macasser is.

4

4

1

1

3

Both...my dad was a 'Teddy Boy' complete with the greased back 'quiff' hair, so we had antimacassars on the backs of all our chairs to protect them. I wouldn't assume this was a well known thing now though to be fair.

A criminal 'fence' however, I would have thought was fairly commonly known.

3

yes to both.

I can see why people wouldn't know, though.

Especially antimacassar. It's not as if many people buy cloths for the back of their sofas any more to protect from Macassar hair oil.

Maybe if they were called anti-Argan Oil, or Antj-VO5 Matt clay, it might be clearer!

4

Ive heard of fencing (criminal) is it something to
do with handling stolen goods ? I'm not sure tho and would never use the term in conversation.

4

3

3

1. Both perfectly ordinary, general, knowledge.

3

After my mince pies cast a beady eye on this, and checked again to see it had not gone all Pete Tong.

@MrsOmelette

3. Both perfectly ordinary, general, knowledge.

Really? How many houses do you go in with antimacassars in?

3

I’ve never heard either word.

3

3

1