In my work, I see the names of many, many businesses. Occasionally, we have one pass through this system whose name causes either snickers or at least a roll of the eyes.

Years ago, a small accounting firm in trouble with the IRS had been named:
Creative Bookkeeping
Small wonder they got in trouble, eh?

Last month, we received notice that a new urology clinic was having a grand opening:
Cascades Urology
Probably had a real flood of customers.

Now, I know Ravenna Road is a street, but today, we wrote a letter of commendation for:
Ravenna Road Animal Hospital
and I have a mental image of squished roadkill being carried into the place on stretchers.

If there's a previous thread for this sort of thing, I couldn't locate it.

I don't think there is a previous thread on this, and I like it!

I don't know of any personally, but I have found a couple:

An English estate firm: Doolittle and Dalley

Aniquarian book center: Reid and Wright (after the owners Rodger Reid and Marsha Wright in Connecticut)

There's a book published by Guy Swillingham called Shop Horror containing a lot of funny store names in Britain. Most of them are contrived, but lots are funny! See the gallery at http://www.shophorror.co.uk/pages/gallery.html

In Tunbridge Wells, Kent, there's ashop selling casks of ale, called Bitter Ends. I love the Ealing shop for removals and house clearances, named Junk and Disorderly. And, many others at:
http://www.shophorror.co.uk/pages/4.html

This could really be a topic: self-revealing company names.

One of my long-time long-ago faves: the law firm of Dewey Cheatham and Howe.

(Probably Abramofffffffffffffff's alma mater!)

I've always liked the salon name:
Curl Up and Dye

It was used in the movie "Earth Girls Are Easy", and I've actually seen a salon of the same name, but I honestly don't know which came first, the movie or real life.

Not funny in the same way but I suspect that a common name for various small newsagents shops over here would give our US visitors pause for thought.

There's one a few streets away from me. Fags 'n' Mags.

LOL good one, Bob!

I just heard about a co-worker's new license plate. He wanted to make a statement, but didn't want to get censored by the license bureau. It says "BRIT CIG".

quote:

the law firm of Dewey Cheatham and Howe.

(Probably Abramofffffffffffffff's alma mater!)

Have you been listening to "Car Talk" on NPR? That's their law firm - or so they say. Their Russian chauffeur is Pikoff Andropoff. Their overworked secretery is Erasmus B. Dragon. They have many others, all equally insane.

quote:

quote:

the law firm of Dewey Cheatham and Howe.

Have you been listening to "Car Talk" on NPR? That's their law firm - or so they say. Their Russian chauffeur is Pikoff Andropoff. Their overworked secretery is Erasmus B. Dragon. They have many others, all equally insane.

So THAT's where I'd heard that! I'd clean forgotten, becuz I stopped listening to CarTalk a coupla years ago (their cackling laughs finally began to get on my nerves).

But I remember looooving the made-up closing credits. Prairie Home Companion also does some of that sometimes -- especially at the end of their annual Joke Show -- always cracks me up, gets me ROTFLing.

David

quote:

(their cackling laughs finally began to get on my nerves).

Each to his/her own, I guess. I love it when they laugh...and I like their NY accents.

It also occurred to me that name of the British holiday company Hoseasons could be misinterpretted, transatlantically speaking.

Those are Boston accents, Sweetie.

Bob, how do you pronounce Hoseasons?

Ho seasons

Is it a fairly new company or a long-established company? In England is "ho" slang for "whore," as it is over here?

50 years in the business.

No, "ho" isn't slang for "whore" in England. It just occurred to me when someone mentioned the company that it might be misinterpretted by US visitors. It's not a connection that would usually occur to anyone British.

According to their site Hoseasons has been established for over 60 years. If I remember rightly they started out hiring out boats for holidays on the Norfolk Broads.

A few kids have picked up "ho" from American rappers, but it's not normally used over here.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: arnie,

Until I asked I wasn't even aware of the US slang expression "ho".

The word does not exist in UK English except for its specialised chemical meaning. We do have the word "hoe" which is a garden implement.

Getting back to topic momentarily, there is a chain of hair-cutting salons named A Cut Above.

Another salon around here . . .

Hair Apparent

Sign seen in Green River, Utah ... "Joe's Radiator Shop -- The best place to take a leak."


..... and .... a gardeners' supply store in Colorado ... Weedum & Reep

Not far from here there is an enterprising family business that (a) runs an ambulance service - inevitably involving transporting women in labour to hospital (b) operates a banquet hall catering to weddings and (c) operates a funeral parlour.
The sign outside the office says:
HICKEY'S...HATCHING, MATCHING and DISPATCHING.

There's also: "Hair Today; Gone Tomorrow"

Some years ago in San Diego there were two funny mortuaries: The Duniway Mortuary and the Goodbody Mortuary.