Well attestedNamed from the place
Scunthorpe problem
noun · first attested 1996
A whole class of software bug is named after a Lincolnshire town's spelling.
The failure of a text filter that blocks innocent words because of a rude string hidden inside them.
53.5809°N -0.6502°W · Q913386
Record
- Relationship
- Named from the place
- Confidence
- Well attestedThe place link is the standard scholarly account.
- Attested
- 1996
- Part of speech
- noun
Explanations here are written for this atlas. Dictionary text is not copied; the sources are linked so the claim can be checked.
- Step 1
Scunthorpe
- In English
Scunthorpe problem
In 1996 AOL's obscenity filter refused to let residents of Scunthorpe register accounts at all, because of the four letters sitting in the middle of the name. The same trap has since caught surnames, other place names, and scientific terms on search engines and social platforms.
United Kingdom
All 108 entries 107 more words from United Kingdom
badmintonThe sport is named for an English country house.BadmintoncheddarThe cheese is named for a gorge village, not a brand.CheddarsandwichThe meal is named for an earl. The earl is named for a town in Kent.SandwichpaisleyThe pattern is from Kashmir. The English name is a Scottish mill town.PaisleybedlamChaos is a worn-down pronunciation of Bethlehem.Bethlem HospitalrugbyThe game is named for the school that played it.RugbytweedThe cloth may be a river, or a misread word for twill.River TweedascotThe tie is named for a Berkshire racecourse.Ascot