Cabbage-smelling Brits, Arabella and vulgar expressions

[alhewison]

No: HPFGUIDX 42893

Bboy writes
  
 Have you ever been in an old person home that didn't smell,
 especially, if they were not psycho cleaning fanatics like Aunt 
Petunia?
 
 They all smell funny, and smell even worse if the person happens to 
fancy cats.
 
Mrs. Figg is an old English person, her house smells like cooked 
cabbage.
 
Mr. Perkins, who Mr. Weasley borrowed the tent from, is an old 
English person and his tent smells like cabbage.

 I think the key here is 'old English person', not polyjuice or some
 other grand conspiracy theory.

To which Eloise eloquently resonds:- 
 I rigorousy deny that when I get old (or even older!) that my house 
will inevitably smell of cabbage because of my nationality!
 
 My mother's house didn't smell of cabbage (dog, yes, but then it had 
for  years, that was a function of the dog and the fact that people 
who live with animals stop noticing their odour, not of her age). My 
in-laws house doesn't smell bad. It smells different from ours (and 
the  kids always say they like the smell of Grandma's house) because 
she uses  different cleaning products, cosmetics, etc. 
nor does my aged aunt's.
> 
Or is your point that cabbage is particularly English? Do you think 
an old  Welsh person's house smell of leeks or an old Scottish 
person's of neeps?
> What do elderly Americans' houses smell of?
> 

I was very "interested" in Bboy's comments. I hope he was merely 
trying to provoke a reaction, and wasn't being deliberately offensive 
<g>,These were certainly rather strange notions to express on this 
group anyway. Just as a matter of interest why would JKR (an English 
person) want to comment on the smell of cabbage, which is obviously 
fairly unpleasant if it was to deride older members of her 
nationality? It certainly doesn't seem to be an "in joke" or 
something that other English people are aware of <g>?

 Bboy says:-
> >I think Mrs. Figg is going to be the obvious, an old witch who 
lived near Harry to keep an eye on him. 

Bboy you could well be right - but that is the beauty about the 
Potter verse at the moment there are still lots of possible 
interpretations. Only JKR can prove us right or wrong.

Eloise again:- 

> On Arabella (this has got OT, so I'll acknowledge it here rather 
than give it  a post of its own),
> 
>< However, the site also says that Annabel is *Hebrew*. >>
>
Catlady had said:-

> >Maybe that site understands "Annabelle" as I did before I read 
your information: as a fancied-up form of "Anna", which does come 
from the Hebrew name Hannah, which IIRC means 'grace'. A portmanteau 
of Hebrew-derived "Anna" and Latin-derived "Bella".
> 
> Eloise:
> Which would be quite logical, only they give "Anna" as Hebrew 
for "grace", "Annabel" as Hebrew for "eagle heroine" and "Arabella" 
as Teutonic for "Eagle heroine".

At the risk of continuing an OT thread:- The Oxford book on Babies' 
Names says that Arabella is of "Scottish origin and uncertain 
etymolgy. It probably represents an alteration of An(n)abel. Under 
Annabel it says:- "Sometimes taken as an elaboration of Anna, but 
more probably an altered form of Amabel,an obsolete French name 
derived from the Latin amabilis. This book supports Catlady's version 
of Anna/Hannah - though the translation "eagle heroine" is nowhere to 
be seen or derived!


Ali

Who has yet to meet an English person either old or young whose house 
smelled of cabbages!