# What's the purpose of Cul De Sacs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 29, 2017, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-purpose-of-cul-de-sacs/795044 "2017-08-29T17:29:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-purpose-of-cul-de-sacs/795044/41 "2017-08-30T22:40:37Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > Given that _The Hobbit_ was written in draft form on the blank space in a student’s exam book from Oxford as a story for his son, and wasn’t even clearly set in “Middle-Earth” at the time he started writing it, in reality the name Baggins and the name Bag-End must have been related in some way to each other, and since Tolkien has said that “Bag End” was the name of his aunt’s house, and he presumably picked that name on purpose, then one must suspect that “Baggins” came from “Bag End”. This is most likely true, but this is unrelated to what I posted. You’re discussing the “external” relationship of the names, that is how they developed and were related in the author’s mind when he created them. I was discussing the internal relationship, their fictional relationship in the world of Middle Earth. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-purpose-of-cul-de-sacs/795044/42 "2017-08-30T23:16:05Z")
Nothing that the OP’s question has probably been answered to the best of the board’s abilities, I think it’s hilarious it’s gone off on a tangent about _Lord of the Rings._ ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2017, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-purpose-of-cul-de-sacs/795044/43 "2017-08-30T23:44:23Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > No, I’m saying that in the quote that I posted, he says that it is “by no means certain” that labingi and labin-nec are related. As I stated, I’m discussing the “internal” relationship of the names, that is, their relationship in the fictional world of Middle Earth as Tolkien described it. And I appreciate that information (and get a certain amount of amusement over how thoroughly Tolkien kept up the notion that he was a translator, trying to produce the most appropriate English analogues (note spelling) for the words he was translating from the Red Book of Westmarch). ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2017, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-purpose-of-cul-de-sacs/795044/44 "2017-08-31T00:51:03Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > analogues (note spelling) Yes, and the analog of that word in American English is spelled “analog”, as you can see in the catalog of words referred to as a dictionary. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2017, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-purpose-of-cul-de-sacs/795044/45 "2017-08-31T01:12:46Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Yes, and the analog of that word in American English is spelled “analog”, as you can see in the catalog of words referred to as a dictionary. Yep. But since I was talking about Tolkien’s process, I figured I’d use British spelling in that case. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2017, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-purpose-of-cul-de-sacs/795044/46 "2017-08-31T15:37:20Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > No, I’m saying that in the quote that I posted, he says that it is “by no means certain” that labingi and labin-nec are related. As I stated, I’m discussing the “internal” relationship of the names, that is, their relationship in the fictional world of Middle Earth as Tolkien described it. Fair enough. > [@Andy\_L](#): > > And I appreciate that information (and get a certain amount of amusement over how thoroughly Tolkien kept up the notion that he was a translator, trying to produce the most appropriate English analogues (note spelling) for the words he was translating from the Red Book of Westmarch). Yes, I was amused by the bit in LotR where Tolkien discusses his choice of “Meriadoc”. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meriadoc_Brandybuck#Names_and_titles) says: > [@](#): > > In this guise of translator, he maintained that the character’s real name was not _Meriadoc Brandybuck_ but rather _Kalimac Brandagamba_. This was said to be an actual phonetic transcription of the name in Tolkien’s invented language of Westron, which Tolkien said he transliterated to English as follows: The nickname “Merry” represents his actual nickname _Kali_ which meant “handsome, happy”, and “Meriadoc” serves as a plausible name from which a nickname meaning “happy” could be derived.[8] Alternately, _The Middle-Earth Encyclopedia_ writes that Meriadoc means “joyful” or “cheerful,” while Merry means “having high spirits.”[3] ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2017, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-purpose-of-cul-de-sacs/795044/47 "2017-08-31T17:57:11Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > It also wasn’t great that in every major snowfall, that connector street was unplowed while the major streets were plowed, leaving a thick 3-foot high barrier of snow on either end you couldn’t get past. Two years in a row I had to take sick days because the city blocked me in during the winter. I did try shoveling a path but it’s just too much snow to do by hand. That wasn’t a problem here. Someone (maybe the HOA) always pays the plows to go down our street. The main issue is that, since we are out of town, we’re lower priority. Fortunately, our snow usually doesn’t get that high. My dad is really good at driving on snow. The rest of us didn’t need to go out, because school would be canceled. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2017, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-purpose-of-cul-de-sacs/795044/48 "2017-09-01T04:05:50Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Our home is the last of three homes on a cul de sac (aka dead end) that is taken the additional step of being a private road. I love it. The only vehicle that ever comes to our house is someone we are expecting. :o I went to pick up a friend on her street and I hadn’t been there before so I went past her house. No problem, it says Dead End, I’ll just see what the whole street is about and turn around and get her. Yeah, except it dead ended in the driveway/dooryard of the house at the end. And the guy after whose family the road is named just happens to be in his car leaving. Um, yeah, don’t mind me… ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2017, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-purpose-of-cul-de-sacs/795044/49 "2017-09-01T16:22:23Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > :o I went to pick up a friend on her street and I hadn’t been there before so I went past her house. No problem, it says Dead End, I’ll just see what the whole street is about and turn around and get her. Yeah, except it dead ended in the driveway/dooryard of the house at the end. And the guy after whose family the road is named just happens to be in his car leaving. Um, yeah, don’t mind me… Heh, yeah, maybe once a year someone will be driving down the dead-end road off of which our _private_ dead end road branches. Instead of turning around and leaving, for some reason they will ignore the “PRIVATE ROAD DO NOT ENTER” sign and proceed down our road. When they reach the end they are at our home, and there typically is no way for them to do a u-turn (if our vehicles/trailers/boats/tractor are in the way). I feel bad for them, backing up a few feet at a time on a narrow, gravel, 1/4 mile lane. ---
**Author:** ![CelticKnot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celticknot/32/3392_2.png) [@CelticKnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelticKnot)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2017, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-purpose-of-cul-de-sacs/795044/50 "2017-09-02T01:42:30Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Heh, yeah, maybe once a year someone will be driving down the dead-end road off of which our _private_ dead end road branches. Instead of turning around and leaving, for some reason they will ignore the “PRIVATE ROAD DO NOT ENTER” sign and proceed down our road. > > When they reach the end they are at our home, and there typically is no way for them to do a u-turn (if our vehicles/trailers/boats/tractor are in the way). I feel bad for them, backing up a few feet at a time on a narrow, gravel, 1/4 mile lane. I wouldn’t feel bad for them at all. It’s called consequences. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2017, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-purpose-of-cul-de-sacs/795044/51 "2017-09-02T11:49:34Z")
> [@CelticKnot](#): > > I wouldn’t feel bad for them at all. It’s called consequences. You’d feel bad for them backing up through 2 feet of freshly fallen snow (our road doesn’t get plowed), trying desperately to stay in the tread marks they just created.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Pippers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b5a626/32.png) [@Pippers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pippers)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2017, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-purpose-of-cul-de-sacs/795044/52 "2017-09-02T15:00:14Z")
I think they are ugly and a pain in the bum to negotiate. There are lots of quiet streets in every town. If you want to teach your kid to ride a bike (really ride, not one of those bikes with training wheels) and you have no space at your house go to a park or the school. A cul-de-sac just screams suburban socialite. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-purpose-of-cul-de-sacs/795044.md?page=2)