# A Britishism? What does it mean if the weather is "parky"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 29, 2005, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-britishism-what-does-it-mean-if-the-weather-is-parky/301791 "2005-04-29T21:43:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2005, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-britishism-what-does-it-mean-if-the-weather-is-parky/301791/41 "2005-04-30T18:54:13Z")
Heh heh, it doesn’t get cold in Suffolk, either…but we’re also capable of being behind the times. You probably never saw or heard of them because they’d fallen out of fashion (and actually, now I think about it, it was probably the winter of 1986/7, which was the last time we had a decent snowfall). ---
**Author:** ![Nunavut\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e95f7d/32.png) [@Nunavut\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunavut_Boy)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2005, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-britishism-what-does-it-mean-if-the-weather-is-parky/301791/42 "2005-04-30T19:07:42Z")
I just want to tell everyone that I have a genuine Inuit parka made by an old Inuk lady. It’s awesome. Everytime I wear it home I get very strange looks at the airports I stop at though. Also, the “parka/parky” connection was the first thing I thought of when I saw this too. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2005, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-britishism-what-does-it-mean-if-the-weather-is-parky/301791/43 "2005-04-30T21:01:59Z")
> [@Wendell Wagner](#): > > The OED says that the word “parka” was borrowed by the Inuits (Eskimos) of Alaska from the Russian word meaning “skin jacket.” Interesting, since every Inupiaq and Inuit-speaking native that I know says “parky”. Only gussucks (white people) say “parka”. > [@](#): > > I don’t think that “parka” is the source of the word “parky.” It’s not. It’s the other way 'round. ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2005, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-britishism-what-does-it-mean-if-the-weather-is-parky/301791/44 "2005-04-30T21:58:42Z")
> [@+MDI](#): > > A parka is a specific type of heavy coat, though. Not all heavy coats are parkas. They need to have a fur lined hood for them to be legitimately called parkas, like this one here: > > [http://www.foundmark.com/Ireland/pages/images/parka-1.jpg](http://www.foundmark.com/Ireland/pages/images/parka-1.jpg) > > I can only assume that if she was calling all heavy coats parkas that it was a peculiarity of Essex. Hmmm… it may have been a peculiarity of just her. I’ve been looking up “parkas” and “anoraks”, and what we wore was much closer to an anorak (just a touch heavier, but not too much - many adolescent girls will freeze their little buns off first rather than wear a proper winter coat). However, also after looking up the difference, the times I’ve been asked to find someone’s parka have been times I retrieved a short but heavy coat with a fur-lined hood. I know little about jackets and styles, so I really didn’t think too hard on this in my earlier post (I usually knew what coat the person came in wearing, so it’s not as though I looked specifcally for something that looked like a “parka” or an “anorak” - I just grabbed the coat that belonged to the one who asked), until the pictures were presented to me just now, so I apologise if I muddied the debate unintentionally. I was ignorant of a few facts. Mea culpa. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2005, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-britishism-what-does-it-mean-if-the-weather-is-parky/301791/45 "2005-04-30T22:51:24Z")
Chefguy writes: \> It’s not. It’s the other way 'round. No, the word “parka” meaning “fur-lined coat with a hood” came from the word “parka” or “parki” meaning the same thing in Inuit. The Inuit supposedly borrowed the word from the Russian word “parka” meaning “skin coat”. The northern English word “parky” meaning “chilly” did not come from the word “parka”. It’s first attested in 1895. Parkas were almost unknown among anyone except Inuit and Arctic explorers till the 1920’s. I don’t believe that ordinary clothes manufacturers made parkas until the 1950’s. The word “parky” meaning “chilly” probably came from the word “parky” meaning “open, spread-out (in reference to land)” which was first attested in 1831. ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2005, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-britishism-what-does-it-mean-if-the-weather-is-parky/301791/46 "2005-04-30T23:07:15Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > 1988 I, and just about every boy, had a parka in the mid 70s. Fashonwise they come and go, but they’ve been around for ages. I don’t know where “perky” comes from, but it pre-dates, and has nothing to do with, parkas. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2005, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-britishism-what-does-it-mean-if-the-weather-is-parky/301791/47 "2005-05-01T13:42:02Z")
> [@+MDI](#): > > I’ve heard it used once or twice (normally by old people), but it’s not common in Lancashire / Greater Manchester. Must be very specific to Yorkshire or the elderly. I’m from Yorkshire, but not elderly, and I’m quite familiar with the word and would occasionally use it myself (but not now I live in the US). ---
**Author:** ![carlotta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@carlotta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlotta)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2005, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-britishism-what-does-it-mean-if-the-weather-is-parky/301791/48 "2005-05-01T17:26:02Z")
Thanks everyone, I now completely understand the word “parky” if not it’s etymology. And I had no idea that “anorak” was an insult…is there any US equivalent? If I understand correctly no one with any aspirations to non-dorkiness would wear an anorak? ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2005, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-britishism-what-does-it-mean-if-the-weather-is-parky/301791/49 "2005-05-01T17:30:27Z")
> [@carlotta](#): > > And I had no idea that “anorak” was an insult…is there any US equivalent? If I understand correctly no one with any aspirations to non-dorkiness would wear an anorak? I guess ‘dork’ or ‘geek’ is the closest. It can also be subdivided into particular realms of geekdom, such as a '_Star Trek anorak_, who would know the exact plot of every episode ever made. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2005, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-britishism-what-does-it-mean-if-the-weather-is-parky/301791/50 "2005-05-01T17:46:38Z")
‘Parky’ conjures images of cheap 80s raincoats. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2005, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-britishism-what-does-it-mean-if-the-weather-is-parky/301791/51 "2005-05-01T17:56:08Z")
The words “dork” or “geek” or “nerd” are all close to the meaning of “anorak.” I think though that “geek” and maybe “nerd” are capable of being used with a certain amount of defiant pride, though. Someone passionately interested in film could call himself a “film geek.” I don’t think that “anorak” can be used in this way, though. ---
**Author:** ![topbrownie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9adbd/32.png) [@topbrownie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/topbrownie)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-britishism-what-does-it-mean-if-the-weather-is-parky/301791/52 "2012-02-14T08:52:05Z")
It may interest you to know that we also use the expression “a bit parky” in the area where I live… and it’s not Yorkshire! I come from the ‘West Country’, south of Bristol. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-britishism-what-does-it-mean-if-the-weather-is-parky/301791/53 "2012-02-14T14:08:29Z")
… and while this zombie is still fresh I will add that my dictionary says it’s “perhaps from ‘perky’”. I suppose in the sense of fresh and brisk, or perhaps with reference to the effects of cold weather on the female human body? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-britishism-what-does-it-mean-if-the-weather-is-parky/301791/54 "2012-02-14T15:45:04Z")
The term ‘parky’ has been spread around and popularised a bit by things like _Last of the Summer Wine_ and _Wallace and Gromit_ - and maybe a few other TV/films set in the north. It wouldn’t surprise me if the term spread from some very humble and untraceable origin - such as some local character somewhere named Parkin or Parkinson, who was always complaining that he was cold. (I’m not posing this even as serious speculation - it’s just that the origin might be absolutely untraceable, if it started from some local interpersonal banter) ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-britishism-what-does-it-mean-if-the-weather-is-parky/301791/55 "2012-02-15T12:44:13Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > **Wendell Wagner** , you’re plain wrong. I had a parka when I was about 8, as did every other kid at school. And they’ve more recently been popular due to the Gallagher scum (ie Oasis). Indeed. With the exciting zip pocket on the left arm and, erm, apparently a place to put pens. Edit: Shit, I just replied to a seven year old post. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-britishism-what-does-it-mean-if-the-weather-is-parky/301791/56 "2012-02-15T13:28:45Z")
This isn’t particularly connected to the North of England. I live on the South Coast and it’s been in regular use here for at least 50 years. From the evidence of the two earliest cites in the OED it could well have started in the sporting fraternity among the ‘swells’. (The \* Pink 'un & Pelican\* was another sporting newspaper.) > [@](#): > > 1895 Sporting Times 9 Feb. 1/4 A toff came and ordered a pint of hot, As he said that the weather was parkey. > > 1898 Pink 'un & Pelican 273 ‘Morning William; cold s’morning?’‥ ‘It is a bit parky’, assented William. OED also suggests that it may have been an alteration of _perky_, which sounds reasonable to me. ---
**Author:** ![glaeken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@glaeken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glaeken)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-britishism-what-does-it-mean-if-the-weather-is-parky/301791/57 "2012-02-15T14:32:43Z")
Another vote for not just a North of England thing. I am from the south East and have often heard people use the phrase. I actually wondered if it might have a rhyming slang origin. Often with rhyming slang the full rhyme is dropped and only one word is used so it can be tricky to figure out the full slang if you are not familiar with it. For example people often say dog for phone when the full rhyme is dog and bone. It could be parky is part of such a rhyme but we have lost whatever the second word is. That is a pure guess though. I am only really thinking along these lines because I do asscociate the term with cockney for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![Rucksinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/898d66/32.png) [@Rucksinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rucksinator)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-britishism-what-does-it-mean-if-the-weather-is-parky/301791/58 "2012-02-15T20:23:11Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > …That’s nothing to do with the film or the book…it’s to do with actual trainspotters, who gather in groups at the end of platforms, all wearing anoraks, NHS glasses, and clearly with a chronic lack of female attention… I know this is a zombie thread, but since it’s been revived, can somebody explain trainspotters to me? (Not the movie, but the actual people that Brits seem to be familiar with). Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-britishism-what-does-it-mean-if-the-weather-is-parky/301791/59 "2012-02-15T20:27:06Z")
My understanding is that trainspotters are like birders. A trainspotter carries a notebook wherein he notes the details of every encounter he has with a locomotive engine. I once attended a model railroad convention and among the wares on display were video recordings of trains going by over and over again, and also audio recordings of the same. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-britishism-what-does-it-mean-if-the-weather-is-parky/301791/60 "2012-02-15T20:39:01Z")
> [@Rucksinator](#): > > I know this is a zombie thread, but since it’s been revived, can somebody explain trainspotters to me? (Not the movie, but the actual people that Brits seem to be familiar with). Thanks. Extreme nerds, basically. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-britishism-what-does-it-mean-if-the-weather-is-parky/301791.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-britishism-what-does-it-mean-if-the-weather-is-parky/301791.md?page=4)