It’s a list I’ve compiled, over the years, from various books and articles I’ve read, and from TV shows like QI (and tweets from the QI Elves). When it comes to language, I tend to be a quiddle.
I like the ones that are more concise than the prevailing equivalencies, e.g., pottle’s two syllables vs. “a half gallon’s” four, or “64 ounces’” five. This would also be useful for texting (if I did that).
With your clear understanding of “pottle,” maybe you can explain the concept of “bushel” to me. Is it a liquid measure or a dry measure? (I think it’s getting to be the right time of day to reach for the jubbe.)
I never knew that the measurement “gill” is pronounced with a soft g.
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Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
14
Many years back, I believe beer used to be available in the UK in a gill measure in pubs - it’s a quarter of a pint. When my dad was off to the pub, he would usually say he was “going for a swift gill” (although the actual gill servings can’t have been around for many years). Tucked away at the back of one of the cupboards is a pewter gill sized beer mug.
My generation went for a “swift half”.
2 Likes
BarneyGrubble
(Beethoven and Latina singer fan in Ottawa)
15
One British measure that makes no sense to me is the “stone”. AFAIK it is usually only (?) used in the context of people’s weight. For those not familiar with it, it’s 14 lb.
Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
16
It makes no sense to me either. Almost everything I come across is in metric but I have no idea how much I weigh in kilogrammes (unless I do a conversion). The doctor’s surgery weighs me in kilos and I have to ask them to convert it to stones & pounds. FWIW, I currently weigh 16 stone & 3 pounds. And we still weigh newborn babies in pounds and ounces
I have a similar issue with height. No idea what it might be metric but I’m 5ft 7 inches.
Oh, we’re the same height, which is 1.73 meters in SENSIBLE measurements
I’ve lived in the US now for almost 22 years, and I still have my phone set to C˚ vs. Fahrenheit, and continue to be blissfully clueless about yards, feet, and other nonsense.
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Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
18
I recall some years back, we were in South Africa and I got chatting to this young guy. The question of his height cropped up - he was tall. Now, I knew that South Africa had started using metric in the 1950s, probably before his parents were born, so was ready to start converting mentally. But, no, he responds in feet and inches - telling me that this was the only time he ever used Imperial.
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BarneyGrubble
(Beethoven and Latina singer fan in Ottawa)
19
Fast, easy conversion from kilos to pounds: double it and add 10%.
