Well it turns out that the place where two roads cross is a "crossroads" but as you approach the crossroads you will see a "crossroad" ahead of you. It is the road that crosses the one that you are on.
If I say, "Let's meet at the crossroads", I mean at the place where the roads cross. But if I say "Let's meet at the crossroad" I mean actually on the road that crosses the other road which is possibly more familiar to both of us.
I don't suppose anybody else has ever fretted about such a thing but I am afraid that that is how my brain is wired. Words have always mattered to me.
Close to the crossroads and specially for Ms Moon in Florida, here's a traditional fish and chip and what a great one it is too. It's purely takeaway with no seating...
Also close to the crossroads there's a pet shop and a seasonal advertising poster from Cadburys - Britain's favourite chocolate producers...
And set back a little way from the traffic lights there's an Ember Inns chain pub called "The Robin Hood". I have enjoyed a few meals and a few drinks in there. When Frances was pregnant with Little Phoebe, we had several meals there during the time of tight COVID restrictions
I would be totally confused if someone told me to meet at a crossroad. Because which one crosses the other? How does one decide that? (the bigger road?)
ReplyDeleteFortunately people usual avoid a crossroad as a meeting place!
DeleteIt all looks quite wintry. Lovely quality of light.
ReplyDeleteCadburys used to be my favourite but it doesn't seem to taste the same these days.
Now you have more sophisticated tastes. This is natural when you live with a member of The House of Lords.
DeleteRead the ingredients and find out why.
DeleteI would say meet me at the intersection of .... and then name the two roads that cross.
ReplyDeleteYou are methodical - like a scientist!
DeleteThe menu of La Scala is small which I rather like.
ReplyDeleteShirley would enjoy Tagliatelle ai Gamberoni.
(Tiger prawns cooked in olive oil w/ tomatoes & garlic.)
Yourself: Bocatini con Salsiccia.
(Italian sausage cooked w/ red wine & mushrooms in tomato sauce.)
My late American brother used to buy these Italian sausages from a deli in Soho.
There is a Simenon novel *Maigret at the Crossroads* (1931).
The French title is *La Nuit du carrefour*.
It was filmed on location in Budapest.
You would pay the bill at La Scala. I have never been there but I have been to The Abbey Friar... Shouldn't that be "Frier"?
DeleteI am in the mood for Cod & Chips at the Abbey Friar.
DeleteNo eaten in the street but. Yon's a wee bit slovenly.
My practice was to have the oven at a low heat before leaving the house.
I would ask the chippie girl for salt on the fish supper but not vinegar.
The vinegar I applied myself at home. Always malt vinegar.
Bread & butter & two pickles & a pot of the tay.
Bob & Terry in The Likely Lads always had beer with their fish & chips.
That's pure socialist working-class, plus a copy of The Daily Mirror.
I've not been at the chippie in years. I only dream of fried bread & kidneys.
Once a teacher, always a teacher it seems. Nurses are the same as I'm sure you know from experience.
ReplyDeleteWhat fun for Phoebe's parents, they get to move just before Christmas. I'm sure they're not stressed at all.
Do I detect a note of sarcasm there Nurse Lily? They haven't got a lot of furniture as they have been living in a furnished rental.
DeleteThe Robin Hood looks like a nice pub. I don't think I've ever heard the singular "crossroad." But I have heard "crossroads" meaning an intersection of two streets.
ReplyDeleteA crossroad could be a road that is cross - perhaps because it is fed up with traffic rumbling over it.
DeleteIsn't it simply plural and singular?
ReplyDeleteMight that be a table and seating at the fish and chip shop where there isn't any seating? Perhaps it becomes invisible when it too cold to use.
If you were a Native American you would be called Big Chief Eagle Eye.
DeleteThanks for a shot of the chippy! And in using that word I went down a little rabbit hole of my own. Is that term used where you are for the fish and chips shop? How often do you suppose you get fish and chips from there?
ReplyDeleteAlso, on another rabbit hole adventure, I would like to recommend (eternally) Eric Clapton playing "Crossroads".
We do use the term "chippy" round here! Good research ma'am. We might have fish and chips once a month but some people order it every week. The Abbey Friar is a bit too far from us. There are closer chippies. Ah... Eric Clapton with Cream!
DeleteI am so glad I did not offend with inappropriate slang.
DeleteCream was amazing. They did something that no one else ever did. I have read, however, that after Eric Clapton heard an album by The Band, he decided that he was over it. Pretty powerful.
Well damn! Now I have to go to YouTube.
DeleteI like the look of the Abbey Friar fish 'n chips shop! I'll bet they have good food. I wish I could have a look around the pet store. I wonder if they have aquarium fish and supplies?
ReplyDeleteThere's a job there for Gregg but he will have to talk like a Yorkshireman.
DeleteFor goodness sake, Mr. Pudding! You are going to give yourself an ulcer! Or palpitations! I am sure that when most men that I know are tossing and turning in their sleep, what they are focused on is something (someone) a little more curvy than two streets. But, it is settled now and you can go off to dreamland, henceforth!
ReplyDeleteYes. Now I can get back to curvaceous hills and wooded valleys. Thank you Ma'am.
DeleteWho would ever have thought that there was a difference between these two terms. Surprising what I learned today from Mr. Pudding.
ReplyDeleteIt isn't something I ever fretted about, but I will always now be aware of the difference between crossroads and crossroad. Your photos are wonderful, I like seeing old English villages. I don't like Cadbury chocolate though. I used to, but sometime in the 90's I bought a bar from a vending machine and it tasted oily, it was very strong and I discovered soon after that they had begun to use palm oil. Now they call it vegetable oil and I think they use less, (and less cocoa too), but I gave up on Cadbury back then and now eat Whittaker's Chocolate made in New Zealand. No palm oil, or vegetable oil and a decent percentage of cocoa solids too.
ReplyDeleteSame here; words have always mattered to me, and their correct use. If I make the occasional mistake, it may be simply down to a typing error, but sometimes I really don't know any better and ask your forgiveness.
ReplyDeleteAs for the difference between crossroad and crossroads, that has "always" been clear as daylight to me.
Nice chippy, but no seating isn't strictly true, is it?
Frances, Steward and Phoebe moving before Christmas sounds like a VERY busy few weeks ahead for all the family.
PS: Last night, I happened to come across a 2019 TV series set and made in Sheffield, "Brief Encounters". Do you know it? It is set in 1982 and all the music is from that time, and some of it from the place, too, such as The Human League.
A neat understanding of the subtlety of this simple language.
ReplyDeleteCrossroads with Miss Diane. Crossroads the movie starring Stevie Vai guitarist and duelling with the Devil.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful day to be out and about with your camera. The clarity of these photos is excellent. I, too, noted the picnic seating outside the chippy - it looks as though it's been out there a very long time.
ReplyDeleteI do hope you'll sleep well, or worry about something else, now you've more or less sorted out your problem of crossroads and crossroad!
Unusual topic for a post, Neil! I wonder why you got stuck on "crossroad" and "crossroads". I did enjoy your photos of the village, tho! :)
ReplyDeleteI suppose I should say little things please little minds but then crossroad/s are large but not as large as a 'spaghetti junction'.
ReplyDeleteI also noticed a place called "La Scala", which I imagine to be an Italian restaurant and, in another photo, "Crumb", a bakery and pizza place. When we made our "grand tour" of England and Europe back in '85, I was surprised at the plethora of pizza restaurants everywhere we went. I had thought it was mainly an Italian and American thing but learned it was a universal dining pleasure.
ReplyDelete