Continuing the clothing theme, today we’re looking at articles of clothing named after people or places.
Our first exhibit is the wellington boot, a type of knee or calf-length rubber boot named after the 1st Duke of Wellington (Arthur Wellesley), the commander of the British forces at the battle of Waterloo in 1815. Wellingtons are affectionately know as wellies or welly boots, and in some parts of the UK welly chucking/throwing is a popular pastime.
Our second exhibit is the balaclava helmut, a close-fitting woollen hood that covers the ears and neck, as originally worn by soldiers in the Crimean War, and named after Balaklava, a small port in South Crimea.
In Terry Pratchett’s Monstrous Regiment, there’s a running gag involving soldiers dreaming of the an article of clothing being named after them.
Are there any others you can think of?
By the way, does anybody have any suggestions for reducing comment spam? The spammers have been hitting this blog a lot.
