Atlas of Proverbial Place Names
An entertaining journey to the origins of geographical idioms and terms in our everyday language.
Did you know that jeans originally came from Genoa?
Cotton trousers from the greater Genoa area (French: Gênes) were exported to the USA, where they became known by the French name "bleu de Gênes" - the blues from Genoa, from which "jeans" colloquially emerged.
"Old Swede, that's not the English way, is that why you took a French leave?"
Hawaiian shirt, bikini & duffle coat, cognac, gouda & Piedmont cherry, parchment, muslin & the Hornberg shoot.
Everyone knows these expressions and phrases
- but where are the places associated with them
and what legends are hidden behind them?