And Finally

Two words which have become the traditional introduction to that offbeat item at the end of the news. It is harmless, probably fun, and sadly sometimes involves water-skiing dogs. But this is not a modern phenomenon, for on April 3rd 1871 the Staffordshire Sentinel produced this gem - although in 1871 it was considered a very serious bit of reporting.

To the delight of Mr George Bridgwood of the Green, Stafford came the discovery of a mushroom some 12.1/2 inches in circumference. It was very well developed and grew in a spot not sheltered from the weather and growing in the asparagus beds.

You couldn't make it up - unlike the words 'mushroom' and 'asparagus', the etymology of neither word has ever been understood.

Goat and Compasses

When discussing the origin of words, and in particular place names and pub names, it is amazing how often I hear alternative explanations which have no truth in them whatsoever. Irritatingly these alternatives are invariably far more entertaining than the true explanation, thus making them virtually impossible to eradicate. Some months ago I discussed the origins of the Elephant and Castle on this blog and recently came across another pub name which has had several explanations offered, all of which are quite wrong but are far more interesting than the truth.

Even if taken completely out of context the unique language which produced the name of the Goat and Compasses can only refer to a pub. Typically with such apparently nonsense names there have been several suggestions as to its origins, the only link between them being they all agree there has been a corruption of at least one of the elements. The most common explanation suggests this began as ‘God encompasseth us’, this entirely down to the nineteenth century novel Framley Parsonage where Anthony Trollope states this as the origin of this apparently meaningless name. Note this is a work of fiction and so is the explanation.

A second explanation accepts the ‘Goat’ and suggests this has exactly the same origin as the term ‘scapegoat’. Many cultures once believed the goat a boon for any farmer to keep alongside other livestock, this suggesting it could well have its origins almost at the very beginning of farming. The very presence of the goat meant any ailments, misfortunes or bad spirits would be attracted to the poor goat, while the rest of the livestock could enjoy life to the full. In later years a goat would be led around a house where sickness had taken hold and for the same reason.

The real explanation is hardly so convoluted. As with so many pub names the answer is heraldic, in particular the coat of arms of the Worshipful Company of Cordwainers. Examine the image and note the chevrons, quite easy to see as a pair of compasses used by many tradesmen including the cordwainers or leatherworkers, alongside the head of a goat. The earliest cordwainers used the hides of goats from Cordova in Spain, which is how they got their name and how the pub became the Goat and Compasses.

Rabbits!

As the first of the month falls on a Sunday, I recall my childhood and being asked if my first words that morning had been "Rabbits" or, should the first of the month be a Sunday, "White rabbits". I was told doing so would invite good fortune, although in retrospect it was more likely to be a way of warding off the reverse.

I have since learned few differentiate between the 1st on a Sunday or when it falls on any other day of the week. Most use one or the other at all times. However this has not helped to uncover the origins. The phrase, at least as it is today, cannot have existed prior to the fourteenth century as until then the animal was known as a cony. Indeed even the introduction of 'rabbit' was initially only used for their young, as evidenced by the 1398 translation where John de Trevisa wrote: "Conynges bringeth forthe many rabettes and multiplieth ful swithe (breed like rabbits)". Later we find Edward Topsell writing in 1607 in The Historie of the Foure Footed Beastes: "If two males be out to one female, they fight fiercely; but they will not hurt the rabbets". It was shortly afterwards that the term applied to adults too.

The saying is first seen in print in 1922, where it is said if the first words out of your mouth on the morning of the first "Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit" a present will arrive before the month has ended. However there seems to be several references to the superstition from around 1800, and in several different English-speaking nations.

Perhaps this will remain as mysterious as the origins of the lucky rabbit's foot, although we cannot rule out the two having something in common. It should be pointed out that it is rather odd that the rabbit be considered so lucky when the other lagomorph, the hare, is seemingly associated with more superstition and folklore than any other other British mammal.