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

Those who haven’t used fence evidently never browse through Facebook market place
It’s definitely a word I’ve used in relation to stuff for sale on there.

I know both.

I recently said

"I will do that, presently" at work, and colleagues said

"You are the only person we know who would say that"

3
But like pps, I am baffled as to how you think you know the relative rates of usage in different locations

4

3 Both

I know about criminal fence through watching crime drama in TV. Don’t think I’ve met one in real life. Those same TV programs are shown throughout the U.K.

I think many people still used antimaccassars when I was a child but wouldn’t be remotely surprised if younger people has never heard the word. Can’t think of any circumstances where this would come up.

3

1. I used antimacasser last weekend when talking to my friend about my chairs dirty arms 🤣.

Agree, fence was used regularly on The Bill - loved that programme!

Like a PP words are also my superpower, I love how rich our language is and tend to know more words, and the meaning of them, than all my friends.

@Ihearab

I have no idea how either word could come up in conversation?

Like this

“Have your heard Nigel got caught fencing antimacassars? Sofa the police have found 500 in his garage”.

Nonsense, the OP clearly had her new city friends round and they all sat drinking wine and doing old Reader’s Digest ‘Increase Your Word Power’ tests on one another. Wild nights.

Surely there's another word for antimacassar in terms of what they use on planes & trains?

3

3

3

@Finfintytint

Bonus points if you know of someone who fences antimacassars.

1. But I am old and read an awful lot.

3

2).

3

3

3 but I can’t imagine them cropping up in conversation with friends

1 - but I only know from watching tv and reading books. I would never use it in conversation, and I don’t think I have ever heard it in real life.

I googled antimacassar - I now vaguely remember my grandmother using the word. How on earth did it come up in conversation?

3

Do you know what casters are (for chairs), or andirons? These are words that seem of a similar era to antimacassar.

I can believe there would be regional variations in knowledge and usage, that some words would have 'stuck' more in some places.

4

3

Now I need a way to automatically collate the scores!

I can’t see how anyone could have been a regular The Bill fan and not know what a fence is. I clearly have moved to somewhere with different TV tastes.