Hog's Head (was: Re: HBP prediction contest)

[dungrollin]

No: HPFGUIDX 130324

Dungrollin:
> PS Does anyone else wonder if the Hog's Head was shortened from The
> Hogwarts Headmaster? More importantly, can anyone pin a theory to
> it? Could the pub, perhaps, date from the time of the founders?

Eloise:
It's just a nice coincidence. A hogshead is an old English measure of
capacity. The precise capacity ahs varied a bit over the years and
interestingly, it also varied according to what was being measured.
http://www.sizes.com/units/hogshead.htm
The Hog's Head, or Hogshead isn't an uncommon pub name in RL. And 
what else would you call a pub in Hogsmeade? (Aside from the Three
Broomsticks, that is. ;-) )

Dung again:
I knew there were pubs called The Hog's Head (even had a pint in 
one) though I didn't know it was a measure. Personally, if I had a 
pub in Hogsmeade I'd call it The Swine and Carbuncles. Or, The 
Dragon and Doxy. Or, The Three-Headed Dog and Troll. Or, The Pumpkin 
and Slug Pellet. The Hog's Head has rather a Muggle ring to it, 
doesn't it? Perhaps it dates from before the Statute of Secrecy and 
all that. Dunno, just thinking aloud. So to speak. As it were.

> Potioncat:
> Oh, I do hope this was the last pun of the series to go over my 
head! And such an obvious one too!
> But, given JKR's love of puns....back to Dungrollin's question: If 
it is HOGwart's HEADmster, it doesn't look good for DD of his faith 
in Snape... A severed(us) head?

and Dung again:
I was wondering if it referred to a previous headmaster, perhaps the 
first headmaster. That was Gryffindor, wasn't it? Was the Hog's Head 
once upon a time The Gryffindor Arms? Which came first, Hogwarts or 
Hogsmeade? I can't remember if we're ever told.

Dungrollin