Dear All,
I knew you guys wouldn't let me down. Very many thanks to all of you
who came up with suggestions for a name for my miniature
workshop/storeroom (and, yes, Randall, I really did mean feet and not
metres. This house is in a "conserved" area, which makes large
extensions impossible/illegal. Once it is finished, I'll take a photo
for you).
Many of the suggestions, both on- and off-list, were quite brilliant.
Unfortunately, some words have different connotations in UK and USA -
"closet" for example, is generally only used over here when talking
about the metaphorical location of clandestine homosexuals. "Daddy
hasn't come out of the closet yet" would be even more awkward to explain
than references to being in the privy...
To a lesser extent, ideas such as "tool-box" or "boot" (which I was
particularly attracted to), and the various portmanteau words suggested,
suffer from the same problem - mind-boggling misinterpretation by third
parties.
In British English, "nook" is either a large fireplace, or a secluded
corner of a larger room. A "den" is where foxes live. "The
dog-house" only has one meaning in British English: "disgrace" (a canine
abode is a kennel). As for "cat-house", I think not, somehow...
Alas, I already have a room known variously as the Study and the Library
(and which is a much more reasonable size: 14' x 20'), so those options
are out.
A "Hobbit Hole" should really have a round door, a blazing fire and a
large pantry, and this one doesn't.
Congratulations to those of you who came up with "Cubby" or "Cubby-hole"
as this precisely and accurately describes the room, and may well turn
out to be the winning entry.
Another entry that took my fancy was "The George" - or any other
traditional pub name. The main downside to this is the thought of the
estate agent's description if we ever sell: "4 bed., 3 recep., kitchen,
bathroom, shower room, Rose and Crown..." :-)
As a result of all the inspired and inspiring suggestions from the list,
I have myself come up with another couple of possibilities. The first
is "Glory Hole" (which was the name of the 2' 9" x 4' room that the
house prefects used as a Common Room at my prep school), and the second
harks back to my days in heavy engineering: "Tool Room". Yes, I know
that a Tool Room is actually a small precision machine shop, but this
room of mine is going to hold little more than a few tools, so it seems
appropriate!
In order to pre-empt any complaints from the Off-Topic Police, could I
ask that any further suggestions or comments be kept off-list?
Thanks again, everyone. I'm greatly obliged to you.
ATB
--
Mike
Ellie - 1963 White Herald 1200 Convertible GA125624 CV
Connie - 1968 Conifer Herald 1200 Saloon GA237511 DL
Carly - 1977 Inca Yellow Spitfire 1500 FH105671
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