Well attestedNamed from the place
swim the Thames
verb · first attested 20th century
It is the answer to swimming the Tiber, with the current running the other way.
To convert to Anglicanism.
51.5000°N 0.6100°E · Q19686
Record
- Relationship
- Named from the place
- Confidence
- Well attestedThe place link is the standard scholarly account.
- Attested
- 20th century
- Part of speech
- verb
Explanations here are written for this atlas. Dictionary text is not copied; the sources are linked so the claim can be checked.
- Step 1
River Thames
- In English
swim the Thames
Converting to Roman Catholicism has long been described as swimming the Tiber, after the river of Rome. The Thames version reverses the journey for a move into the Church of England. Both belong to a small family of conversion jokes that also includes swimming the Bosphorus for Eastern Orthodoxy.
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