I know it only from St Albans, Redbourn and Hertford ... not really "other
parts" since they're all in Herts.! Looks like one of those cases of a single
local source which caught on elsewhere, as I once suggested for Finkle Street
and Western Road (in Sussex at least), and as can be observed in the
application of London street-names outside London.
No idea about the allusion. Thieving (cf. _snatch-cly_ in Grose's _Classical
dict. of the vulgar tongue_, and the general sense of this word)? But I
haven't found any authority for _snatch up_ as an idiom.
Richard
>
> Does anyone have any thoughts about this query ?
> Jennifer
>
> --- Begin Forwarded Message ---
> Date: Mon, 3 Jun 2002 20:10:35 +0100
> From: Gerard <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Snatchup
> Sender: "From: Local-History list" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
>
> Reply-To: "From: Local-History list" <[log in to unmask]>
> Message-ID: <[log in to unmask]>
>
>
> We have a Snatchup Alley in St Albans and I have seen the name in other
> parts of the country. Does anyone know the derivation, as my sources do not
> seem to have one.
>
> --- End Forwarded Message ---
>
>
> ----------------------
> Jennifer Scherr
> Assistant Director (Public Services)
> University of Bristol Information Services
>
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>
--
Richard Coates
Professor of Linguistics
Dean, School of Cognitive and Computing Sciences
University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QH, UK
Tel.: +44 (0)1273 678030 (secretary Jackie Gains)
Fax: +44 (0)1273 671320
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