Pub Names - Puns, Jokes and Corruptions

Puns, Jokes and Corruptions

Although puns became increasingly popular through the twentieth century, they should be considered with care. Supposed corruptions of foreign phrases usually have much simpler explanations. Many old names for pubs that appear nonsensical are often alleged to have come from corruptions of slogans or phrases, such as "The Bag o'Nails" (Bacchanals), "The Cat and the Fiddle" (Caton Fidele) and "The Bull and Bush", which purportedly celebrates the victory of Henry VIII at "Boulogne Bouche" or Boulogne-sur-Mer Harbour. Often, these corruptions evoke a visual image which comes to signify the pub; these images had particular importance for identifying a pub on signs and other media before literacy became widespread. Sometimes the basis of a nickname is not the name, but its pictorial representation on the sign that becomes corrupt, through weathering, or unskillful paintwork by an amateur artist. Apparently, many pubs called the Cat or Cat and Custard Pot were originally Tigers or Red Lions with signs that "looked more like a cat" in the opinion of locals.

• Bag o'Nails: Thought by the romantic to be a corrupted version of "Bacchanals" but really is just a sign once used by ironmongers. The pub of this name (closed as of November 2010) in Bristol, England was named in the 1990s for the former reason, though the latter is more prevalent.
• Barge Inn. A play on words 'barge in'. Also, the Barge Inn in Wiltshire is located on a canal, where barges tie up.
• Beartown Tap, Congleton, Cheshire. 'Beartown' is the nickname for Congleton, as local legend claims its townsfolk once 'sold the bible to buy the bear', that is, spent money set aside to buy a parish Bible on providing bear-baiting at their fair.
• Bent Brief, once close to the Honest Lawyer on Lodge Road, Southampton.
• Bird and Baby, the familiar name used by the Inklings for the Eagle and Child pub in Oxford (see above under Heraldry).
• Buck and Ear in the Steveston area of Richmond, British Columbia. The name alludes not only to the maritime heritage of the area but also to a previous establishment at the same location that was called "The Buccaneer".
• Bull and Mouth: Believed to celebrate the victory of Henry VIII at "Boulogne Mouth" or Harbour. Also applies to Bull and Bush (Boulogne Bouche).
• Case is Altered: The title of an early comedy by Ben Jonson, first published in 1609, based on a remark by lawyer Edmund Plowden which entered into common currency. Also said to be a corruption of the Latin phrase Casa Alta ('high house') or Casa Altera ('second house'). There are several examples in England, such as at Hatton, Warwickshire
• Cat and Fiddle: a corruption of Caton le Fidèle (a governor of Calais loyal to King Edward III). Alternatively from Katherine la Fidèle, Henry VIII's first wife.
• Cock and Bull: a play on "cock and bull story". This term is said to derive from the Cock and the Bull, two pubs in Stony Stratford, Buckinghamshire, which are close neighbours and rival coaching inns. There was a great rivalry between the clientèles of the two houses and they would tell increasingly unbelievable stories of their own prowess. Thus, stories containing fictitious tosh are now known as "cock and bull stories".
• Dew Drop Inn: A pun on "do drop in". See also U-Drop Inn, a café.
• Dirty Duck: The Black Swan, as in Stratford-on-Avon; also The Mucky Duck in Portsmouth and the Students Union pub at the University of Warwick
• Dirty Habit: Sited on the route of the Pilgrims' Way, the name is a play on the contemptuous phrase and a reference to the clothing of monks who passed by on a pilgrimage to Canterbury Cathedral.
• Dogs Bollocks: the name of a pub in a "traditional English" style located at 817 Queen Street West in Toronto, Canada, deriving its name from "the dog's bollocks" which is a slang term for "the best".
• Elephant and Castle: Possibly a corruption of "la Infanta de Castile". It is popularly believed amongst residents of Elephant and Castle that a 17th century publican near Newington named his tavern after the Spanish princess who was affianced to King Charles I of England. The prohibition of this marriage by Church authorities in 1623 was a cause of war with Spain so it seems unlikely to have been a popular name. A more probable and prosaic explanation is that the name derives from the arms of the Worshipful Company of Cutlers, a London trade guild; an elephant carrying a castle-shaped howdah can also be seen on the arms of the City of Coventry.
• Fawcett Inn ("force it in"), Portsmouth.
• Gate Hangs Well, common in the Midlands: "This Gate Hangs Well, and hinders none. Refresh and pay and travel on." Also frequently found as 'Hanging Gate'.
• Goat and Compasses: Believed by some to be a corrupted version of the phrase "God encompasseth us", but more likely to be based on the arms of the Worshipful Company of Cordwainers. Cordwainers made shoes from goat skin. Also said to be a play on words between 'chèvre' the French word for goat and the word 'chevron', a shape which resembles a pair of compasses.
• Honest Lawyer Folkestone, The Honest Politician, Portsmouth.
• Hop Inn: similar to the Dew Drop Inn. A double pun in that hops are a major ingredient in beer making.
• Jolly Taxpayer in Portsmouth.
• Letters Inn ("let us in")
• Library: So students and others can say they're in 'the library',
• Nag's Head. Pub signs can play on the double meaning of Nag — a horse or a scolding woman.
• Nowhere, Plymouth; Nowhere Inn Particular, Croydon: Wife calls husband on his mobile and asks where he is. He answers truthfully "Nowhere".
• Office: as above.
• Ostrich, Ipswich: originally Oyster Reach (the old name has since been restored on the advice of historians).
• Pig and Whistle: a corruption of the Anglo-Saxon saying piggin wassail meaning "good health".
• Quiet Woman, York.
• Swan With Two Necks: In the United Kingdom, swans have traditionally been the property of the reigning Monarch. However, in the 16th century, Queen Elizabeth I granted the right to ownership of some swans to the Worshipful Company of Vintners. In order to be able to tell which Swan belonged to whom, it was decided that Vintners' swans should have their beaks marked with two notches, or nicks. In those days, 'neck' was another form of 'nick' and so the Vintners spotted that a Swan With Two Necks could afford them a rather clever pun, and a striking pub sign.