Grockles
Jackdaw (Corvus monedula)
Grockle is a word originally used disparagingly to refer to tourists, in the Southwest of England – Devon and Cornwall, for example. Its usage spread to other parts of the country and even migrated to the former Northern Rhodesia, now known as Zambia, and Southern Rhodesia, which is now part of Zimbabwe. I don’t know if it’s still current in those countries. I doubt it!
I discovered that it has even been used by climbers to refer to people who visit mountains as sightseers rather than participants. In North Wales, the two easiest routes to the summit of Yr Wyddfa, which is more familiarly known as Mount Snowdon, are called Grockle Tracks.
On the Isle of Man, tourists in cars are called grockles. They are believed to be easily identifiable because all Manx numberplates have MN or MAN on them. When I tried to verify that, I found the following:
‘Not all cars on the Isle of Man have MN or MAN in their registration plates . . . . while MY and MAN are common, they aren’t the only options available.'
Isn’t it difficult to find reliable information on the internet? Sometimes, things are just contradictory! So, I checked on Grockle Tracks and discovered:
‘Grockle Tracks isn’t a specific term used for Snowdon’s paths . . . the easier tracks to the summit are often referred to as the Llanberis Path and the Snowdon Ranger Path. These are generally more accessible and popular with casual hikers and tourists.’
There’s nothing quite like facts to ruin a good yarn!
One definition of grockle suggests that it may derive from ‘grackle,’ an old name for the Jackdaw, whose Latin name is Graculus. When I checked that, I found it to be inaccurate. The jackdaw’s Latin name is Corvus monedula while ‘Graculus’ refers to the Yellow-billed Chough, ‘Pyrrhocoras graculus.’
Another suggestion is that the word came from a strip cartoon in ‘The Dandy.’ This Scottish children’s comic from 1937 featured a boy called Jimmy who had a pet that resembled a dragon and made the noise ‘grockle.’ Previously, in the 1920s, the grockle appeared in the comic ‘The Rover’ as Jimmy Johnson’s Grockle.’
One final explanation claims that holidaymakers in Torbay, Devon, were compared to little clowns. Grock, (1880-1959) was a Swiss music hall artist known as ‘the king of clowns.’ He used the piano and violin in his act and was one of the highest paid performers of the period in Europe.
son aves muy lindas. Te mando un beso.
ReplyDeleteI like all the crow family - very intelligent birds.
DeleteGrackles I'm familiar with; grockles not so much. Both Common Grackles and Great-tailed Grackles were fairly common in our yard and at my bird feeders when we first moved here thirty-six years ago. Today we don't see them that often, although they are more common in the winter months.
ReplyDelete'Grackle' is such a pleasing name - it sounds noisy and friendly.
DeleteNever let facts get in the way of a good story. Locals of a couple of generations ago on Hayling also used the term for tourists - apparently identifiable for wincing going barefoot on the flinty beaches. I don't believe for a minute that most locals (also regular wearers of shoes) didn't also hobble over those flints
ReplyDeleteI defy anyone to walk on sharp, pebbly beaches to do so without visible signs of discomfort, unless trained like the firewalkers.
DeleteVery interesting, you used to be able to get a badge in the west country which said. 'I'm not a grockle I live here!'
ReplyDeleteI bet all the tourists bought them!
DeleteI have to say that having lived here for more than 30 years I have never heard tourists referred to as grockles by locals. I was aware of the term in use across the water though.
ReplyDeleteThere you are, you see, you can't trust the internet!
DeleteOur Corvus are quite different to yours. I like the word grockle and it should apply to something. I'll choose the last explanation.
ReplyDeleteIn our house we use it to describe the cruise ships that look like floating blocks of flats. Grockle ships blaze and blare across the water like a mobile Glastonbury.
DeleteWe never used the term in our local part of Somerset, I only heard it once I travelled to Cornwall, having had a recent trip up Snowdon, the trail did look like a grockle path, the number of people who were not wearing hiking gear. I do love an old wives tale as my mum used to call them.
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing how many people don't wear appropriate clothing and footwear on tracks that can be quite challenging, depending on the weather and the time of year.
DeleteHaving lived in Torbay for many years, I am familiar with the word but didn’t know about all that you described. Very interesting indeed. We have a bird over here called a common grackle. You can see it here:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Grackle/overview
They're rather pretty birds, aren't they?
DeleteSounds like you have been surfing the net - going hither and thither along sidetracks. Everybody knows that a grockle is someone who surfs the net, going hither and thither along sidetracks.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds about right. I grockle all the time. '😎
DeleteFor us, (himself and me) grockle boats are the huge mobile floating flats that disturb the peace of an afternoon sail as they trundle along, blaring out something that some describe as music.
Grockle, odd word and so many meanings. We have black birds here called Grackles and I like them but they stay in flocks, are very vocal and messy.
ReplyDeleteI looked them up. They're quite pretty.
DeleteMy husband is fond of the word Grockle and uses it in a mildly derogatory way to describe tourists/visitors who amble along on holiday...... being.....well.........tourists. Don't think it occurs to OH that he is more than capable of being a Grockle on occasion! 😉
ReplyDeleteAlison in Wales x
We're all grockles sometimes. 🤣
DeleteWhen I lived in Bournemouth many moons ago the term grockle described tourists who cluttered the place up during the summer and the term umbo was used to describe those tourists who sat at the side of the road with their picnic and were attached to their car by their umbilical cord. Takes all sorts !
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard of umbo. What a fabulous word!
DeleteA good story and there is probably some truth in there somewhere.
ReplyDeleteThere's a grain of truth in most things. 😃
DeleteI never heard the term 'grockle' before. We do have grackles over here, and they are a migratory bird, so perhaps it is the same.
ReplyDeleteI don't think grackles and Jackdaws (grockles) belong to the same family, though they look quite similar.
ReplyDeleteI just saw a grackle on another blog so that's a coincidence.
ReplyDelete. . . and 'they' say there's no such thing . . .
ReplyDeleteI grow ever more uneasy with the tendency we have to label other people in a manner that isn't complimentary. It may seem harmless fun and I've certainly been guilty of it. But, living today in the US, I'm dismayed at where this penchant for making distinctions between us (and always to our own advantage) has taken us.
ReplyDeleteThank you for bringing a different perspective to this. You're quite right - it's too easy to slip into 'labels' without thought, and before we know it, we're entrenched in something we never intended. Think before speaking is always a good rule.
DeleteWe had lots of grackles in Ohio. (The bird kind.) I remember nursing one back to health when I was a kid.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely memory.
DeleteI have heard the term grockle describing tourists who visit in the summer (and other seasons) but then so many areas need tourists, is it good to give them a label? We seem to be too willing to give people labels these days.
ReplyDeleteNo matter where the word came from I like the two birds pictured on your post.
All the best Jan
I agree that it's too easy to label people. Tourism is the lifeblood of many communities.
DeleteAs for the Jackdaws, we are lucky to see them in the garden, along with other members of the Corvid family. I love them!
We have grackles. They look something like for last pic. Birds, I mean.
ReplyDeleteWe don't have grackles - they look rather fine, I think.
DeleteHaving visited both Devon and Cornwall, I was familiar with the word grockles in the original sense :-) xxx
ReplyDeleteSo you were real grockles . . . 😂🤣 We've all been grockles at one time or another.
DeleteI've never heard this term in the U.S. We call people "gawkers" who stop or slow down to gawk at an accident or something unusual. I've never heard it in connection with tourists though.
ReplyDeleteWe call gawkers 'rubberneckers' - tourism is more time-consuming, usually.
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