Does anyone know why (in Scotland at least) a water c*ck (or its cover) in the street is known as a "toby"?
Do different regions have different names for it (besides stopcock)?
Just curious.
Tim
OT: Whither "toby"?
Nov 12, 2016
20 Replies
Follow replies to this discussion?
First reply
gives derivation as "Shelta word 'tobar' meaning road" (whatever Shelta is). I've never heard it called anything other than stopcock - and that's in both Yorkshire and Buckinghamshire/Berkshire - the two areas of the country where I've lived.
Read the full replyInformation here may be outdated?
At a guess from toby jug...
formatting link
gives derivation as "Shelta word 'tobar' meaning road" (whatever Shelta is).
I've never heard it called anything other than stopcock - and that's in both Yorkshire and Buckinghamshire/Berkshire - the two areas of the country where I've lived.
formatting link
Cheers
3 minutes Internet research reveals that it is in common and official use in Scotland (and perhaps NZ) but reveals no convincing etymology. A possiblility is an old Irish word for road.
Cross-posted to ukra as we have a significant and knowledgeable Scottish contingent.
Never heard it called that in the NE of Scotland.
I know it as a "toby" and I'm in Edinburgh. I'm guessing that it's because it's the same shape as a toby-jug hat as is suggested.
Brian
Indeed, we users of uk.r.a are all linguistic pundits - so I have to ask whether the OP really means "whither"? I would have thought that "wherefore" would be more appropriate.
"Whence". From where.
Another Dave
LOL "knowledgeable". You crack me up you do, Rog.
It's stopcock in the superior Lancashire.
It's 'toby' in Sutherland.
It's from jockish rhyming slang: Tobermory = Tory = an Englishman who likes to play hide the sausage, c*ck.
Yes, "whence" also fits.
In message , NY writes
I'm from upstate Northumberland, and it's always been a stopcock to me.
What is it in the inferior Lancashire?
You mean the black part?
En el artículo , Another Dave escribió:
"Wherefore" means "why", so it works in this context too: "why is it called a toby?"
it's in the road ...or pavement
Shelta /???lt?/[3] is a language spoken by Irish Travel lers, particularly in Ireland and the United Kingdom. In the earliest but undocumented period linguists surmise that the Trave ller community was Irish-speaking until a period of widespread bilingualism in Irish and Hiberno-English (or Scots in Scotland) set in, leading to cre olisation (possibly with a trilingual stage) [wikipedia:Shelta]
And Irish were involved in road construction.
Owain
Join the Discussion
Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.
Didn't find your answer?
Ask the community — no account required