This blog post originally appeared 2/12/2008.
Because I am a fan of the excellent Schott’s Miscellany series – Schott’s Original Miscellany, Schott’s Food and Drink Miscellany, etc – I bought the Schott’s Almanac Page-a-Day calendar this year. It is a treasure trove of my favorite kind of nuggets: funny and random.
Last Saturday’s page deals with the British armed forces’ tendency to give automatic nicknames to people with certain surnames. Like so:
Surname: Austen
Nickname: Bunny
Surname: Clarke
Nickname: Nobby
Surname: Harris
Nickname: Chopper
Surname: Miller
Nickname: Dusty
Surname: Murphy
Nickname: Spud
Surname: Payne
Nickname: Whacker
Surname: Short
Nickname: Jumper
Surname: Smith
Nickname: Smudger
Surname: White
Nickname: Chalky
Surname: Young
Nickname: Brigham
Sadly, none of the reference staff’s surnames are on this list, although I do know several Chalkys and Spuds. I really shouldn’t talk; my grandmother was a Smudger.
The Mississippi Library Commission is committed – through leadership, advocacy, and service – to strengthening and enhancing libraries and library services for all Mississippians.
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