# BritDopers: Tell me about barley water **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 12, 2008, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687 "2008-06-12T14:07:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687/21 "2008-06-13T00:43:27Z")
[QUOTE=Usram] …Spag Bol is indeed shorthand for Spaghetti Bolognese. What else would it be? [/QUOTE] A relative of Manute Bol? ---
**Author:** ![Marlitharn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@Marlitharn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marlitharn)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687/22 "2008-06-13T03:21:03Z")
What is “hock”? As in, “Never mind, my dove. Look - nice hock. Drink it up and you’ll feel better.” (quoted (probably incorrectly) from memory from _Cold Comfort Farm_. I always assumed it was something like a hot toddy? ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687/23 "2008-06-13T03:27:14Z")
Ok . . . what in hell does ‘wot’ mean? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687/24 "2008-06-13T03:29:47Z")
“Hock” is a Britishism for “Rhine wine.” “Wot” is just an alternate spelling and pronunciation of “what.” ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687/25 "2008-06-13T03:36:22Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] “Wot” is just an alternate spelling and pronunciation of “what.” [/QUOTE] Yup, as in [“Wot’s all this, then?”](http://www.glarkware.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=3&idproduct=1968) ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687/26 "2008-06-13T03:42:13Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] Why, I wonder? That would be like asking that a Georgian nanny not smell of Coca-Cola. Any reason for this, Brit-Dopers? [/QUOTE] I’d always assumed (from the tone and facial expressions of the children in the movie) that the line “And never smell of barley water” was intended to mean “And never have a funny old person smell” while conveniently rhyming with “Love us as a son and daughter”. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687/27 "2008-06-13T03:49:06Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] “Wot” is just an alternate spelling and pronunciation of “what.” [/QUOTE] That’s what I thought for the longest time but recently I’ve seen it a few times in contexts that don’t fit with that at all. Just like _daft_ and _bollocks_ . . . everytime I think I know what those words mean I see them in a context that makes NO sense with any definition I thought I knew. ---
**Author:** ![Marlitharn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@Marlitharn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marlitharn)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687/28 "2008-06-13T04:12:14Z")
Ah, okay. Why does Tonks keep saying “Wotcher!” to Harry? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687/29 "2008-06-13T05:37:48Z")
[QUOTE=Marlitharn] Why does Tonks keep saying “Wotcher!” to Harry? [/QUOTE] “What ya up to, Harry?” = “Wotcher, Harry?” ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687/30 "2008-06-13T05:45:26Z")
Wow, illumination breaks over me! I never understood that one. I was mostly only familiar with it from Asterix, though, so “Wotcher!” in a book always makes me think of cartoon ancient Britons. “What about a spot of hot water with lemon in it?” “Ooh, lovely!” ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687/31 "2008-06-13T06:49:09Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] “Hock” is a Britishism for “Rhine wine.” It also is slang for pawning summat. Innit? ---
**Author:** ![SparrowHawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac8455/32.png) [@SparrowHawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SparrowHawk)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687/32 "2008-06-13T06:58:53Z")
[QUOTE=Cisco] That’s what I thought for the longest time but recently I’ve seen it a few times in contexts that don’t fit with that at all. [/QUOTE] As in “A garden is a lovesome thing, God wot!”? God knows. I mean, that’s what it means. From Old English “witt”, to know. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687/33 "2008-06-13T10:47:19Z")
[QUOTE=chowder] [Hock] is also is slang for pawning summat. Innit? [/QUOTE] It is, but in the _Cold Comfort Farm_ context it seems to be referring to German wine. Hock, in that sense, is a slightly old-fashioned term, usually meaning a particular kind of wine. Other German varieties such as Riesling or Mosel are not usually labelled “Hock”. Back on barley water, it’s one of those things that you are aware of, but nobody you know actually buys. The only time I ever come across it is the Wimbledon TV coverage. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687/34 "2008-06-13T10:53:30Z")
[QUOTE=Usram] Back on barley water, it’s one of those things that you are aware of, but nobody you know actually buys. The only time I ever come across it is the Wimbledon TV coverage. [/QUOTE] There also tends to be a lonely bottle of it in the drinks cabinet of little old ladies. Ones where everything is covered in dust except the sherry. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687/35 "2008-06-13T11:15:05Z")
Isn’t barley water usually stored next the dandelion and burdock? And what’s the deal with Vimto? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687/36 "2008-06-13T11:39:25Z")
**Tapioca Dextrin** is about the most obscurely appropriate username for this subject. How many other dopers have names that combine a carbohydrate with the starch from a grain? ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687/37 "2008-06-13T11:47:07Z")
[QUOTE=Tapioca Dextrin] Isn’t barley water usually stored next the dandelion and burdock? And what’s the deal with Vimto? 😕 [/QUOTE] I quite like dandelion and burdock. And Vimto … ah, yes, Vimto. For the benefit of our uninitiated US cousins, Vimto is a fruit-flavoured fizzy drink. Not any _specific_ fruit, you understand. Just … fruit. Possibly the sort of fruit that grows around Chernobyl these days. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687/38 "2008-06-13T12:14:44Z")
Vimto’s not normally fizzy, it’s usually sold as a cordial in a big bottle (I’ve never seen a small bottle of Vimto). You can get cans of it that are carbonated, though. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687/39 "2008-06-13T12:47:55Z")
[QUOTE=WotNot] What wolfman said: sugar and water (with appropriate colouring and flavouring), boiled to a thick syrup and left to set hard. How did you think they were made? [/QUOTE] Since I didn’t actually figure out what they were till a few days ago, I had never been clear where the boiling came in. I think I was imagaining that they were boiled as a finishing touch. Some candies get dipped in chocolate, and some candies get … boiled. Which is why it seemed so freakin’ odd, and why I couldn’t figure out what they were in “real” (American) candy. ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687/40 "2008-06-13T13:35:22Z")
[QUOTE=GuanoLad] “What ya up to, Harry?” = “Wotcher, Harry?” [/QUOTE] It’s allegedly a contraction of “What cheer?” (same meaning as above, though) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687.md?page=3)