Re: Weekly vocab revival?

Tim May wrote:
>
> Ph.D. wrote at 2006-08-20 18:42:41 (-0400)
> >
> > Doesn't "napkin" normally mean "diaper" in the U.K.?
>
> No, it's always "nappy".  Until you mentioned it, I wasn't
> even aware there was an etymological connection.  I'd
> be _very_ surprised if someone used "napkin" to mean
> "diaper".

Interesting. There was a story here in the U.S. about U.K.
"napkin" which is apparently a myth just like the story that
the General  Motors car called the Nova did not sell well
in South America.

The story is that a large American maker of paper dinner
napkins ran an advertisement in the U.K. that said their
product was "the best napkin at the dinner table," and
that Britons didn't buy that brand because "napkin" means
"diaper" there.

Oh, well. Thanks for the correction.

--Ph. D.