In my work as a telefundraiser for a number of charities (yeah, all the mud-slinging has already been done so unless you’ve got something ORIGINAL to add, fuck off! ) I come across some most interesting names on our databases. It’s a matter of much mirth for us poor schmucks on the telephone, and brightens our otherwise dull and dreary days.
Just last week I spoke to Debra Crossing…she was a lovely lady and (of course) prefers the Debbie version of her name to avoid people like myself having a titter at her expense.
Today I came across the name to end all names. I looked at my computer screen, then removed my glasses and gave them a puff and polish and looked again. It was still the same…but by that time the tears were streaming outta my eyes so much that I couldn’t see nuffink, and NO WAY could I ring this wonderful donor to ask her to support our charity for the eighth time in four years.
Her name was Mrs Cancankerous Wang. Apologies to anyone out there who goes by the Christian name of Cancankerous, but by FUCK, what the HELL??
And with Wang as a surname, it just makes it all the more, er…novel, I guess. :eek:
That’s the best that I’ve EVER come across. No pun intended for the filthy-minded amongst you.
And when you call Mrs Wang she knows you’re a telemarketer and hangs up.
Many of us routinely give false names to different places we can’t buy from anonymously (e.g websites & magazines) so we can track who they sell our names to, regardless of their promise not to.
When anyone calls my house asking for one of my fake names, they get a quick “click”.
As a clueless 'merican I must say I can’t find anything humorous in “Debra Crossing”; perhaps there’s some Aussie slang in there I don’t get. Please enlighten us.
Now that you explain it, I understand, but I wouldn’t have otherwise.
First off, as you stated, we don’t commonly refer to them a Zebra Crossings here, mainly because most of them aren’t striped like zebras. Usually, pedestrian crossings are just a set of parallel lines making a lane to cross the street.
Also, we pronounce the name of the animal as “ZEE-bra” instead of “ZEH-bra” so it wouldn’t sound like Debra at all.
Now that I’ve straightened that out, what’s with Sue Ridge? I don’t understand that one at all, unless it’s the fact that it sounds like Zurich (Switzerland).
ETA: Of course, now that I just posted, I see the connection with “sewerage”. Never mind.
Roger Abbot (his sister is Esther, BTW… poor bunnies)
Harold Dyck (who actually went by “Harry”)
S. Nimrod (whose emails were sent in a format of lastname, firstname, much to our amusement)
Richard Wilcox (or “Dick” to his friends)
…and my favourite of all, Ms Fuk Yu (which may or may not have been her real name).
Working in a call center, I get all kinds of interesting names – I have talked to the same guy a few times. He owns a flower shop – his name is John Holmes. I’ve also talked to Andrea Lien (pronounced leeon) who prefers going by just her first initial and her last name - A. Lien. Yeh, she owns a curio shop.
The one that cracked me up the other day, though, was a Ms. Tucci-Condom. Of course, I should mention that I used to call my girly bits my “toochi” when being silly, and yes, that is how Tucci is pronounced. It was really hard to keep from snorting while I talked to her!
I used to work with a guy named David William Blow, and his son Dave Will Blow II. I’ll never understand why the guy passed down that name. Given the guy’s attitude , it was probably a “Boy Named Sue” thing.
The weekend soundtrack to my childhood was CBC Radio (this would be the pre-TV glory days of Double Exposure and Air Farce). I’m sad to say it definitely wasn’t THAT Roger Abbot. I’d have recognized the voice immediately after that much exposure to it, even sans the Jean Chretien impression.
(I’ve had run-ins with two of the other cast members, though… when I was growing up in East End TO, Luba Goy would occasionally be spotted shopping at our local Loblaws, and I helped Don Ferguson pick out a gift several years ago whilst working as a sales clerk)
Not quite on point, but while watching college football awhile back, the TV camera focused on the backs of two players sitting next to each other on the bench. I had to chuckle at the names on their jerseys – one Dingle, one Berry.
So which would be worse - to have a “II” after your name, or the more proper “Junior”? Well, if this continues for another generation, the boy will have a bright future in the motion pictures.
How do Australians pronounce ‘Zebra’–“zeebra” or “zeh-bra”? I suppose it’s funnier if ‘Debra’ rhymes with ‘zebra’.
I’ve always thought the phrase ‘zebra crossing’ was funny in itself. It’s not much used in America, if at all, and it makes it sound as if motorists in other English-speaking countries have to be careful at all times, in even the biggest cities, not to run into the many zebras that must be wandering around Sydney, London, and other major cities.
) I come across some most interesting names on our databases. It’s a matter of much mirth for us poor schmucks on the telephone, and brightens our otherwise dull and dreary days.
