OT - Scrumping, is it just for apples

[badriya]

A purely academic question, you understand, but can it apply to
oranges, or is there another term for those? And lemons really are
free here. They grow all along the roadside on trees not in anyone's
garden, just on the 'campo' - sort of scrubland. My Spanish neighbour
assured me we can pick those, and also the oranges that you can reach
without going over fences.

[Stephen]

Post by badriya
A purely academic question, you understand, but can it apply to
oranges, or is there another term for those? And lemons really are
free here. They grow all along the roadside on trees not in anyone's
garden, just on the 'campo' - sort of scrubland. My Spanish neighbour
assured me we can pick those, and also the oranges that you can reach
without going over fences.

In "Heavy as Lead" by Malcolm Torrie (a pseudonym of Gladys Mitchell),
the dodgy Baronet, Sir Ganymede Troggett, is described as scrumping
plants from rock gardens, but even then the idea that scrumping is
really about apples is made quite clear.

But language evolves, and if enough people start talking about
scrumping oranges or lemons, that is what the word will come to mean.

[n***@yahoo.com]

Post by Stephen

Post by badriya
A purely academic question, you understand, but can it apply to
oranges, or is there another term for those?  And lemons really are
free here.  They grow all along the roadside on trees not in anyone's
garden, just on the 'campo' - sort of scrubland.  My Spanish neighbour
assured me we can pick those, and also the oranges that you can reach
without going over fences.

In "Heavy as Lead" by Malcolm Torrie (a pseudonym of Gladys Mitchell),
the dodgy Baronet, Sir Ganymede Troggett, is described as scrumping
plants from rock gardens, but even then the idea that scrumping is
really about apples is made quite clear.
But language evolves, and if enough people start talking about
scrumping oranges or lemons, that is what the word will come to mean.

I feel that scrumping is really about apples just as scrumpy is really
about cider. But it's hard to think of lemon specific or orange
specific equivalents. Marmaling oranges? Ginantonicing lemons?

In Asunción, as I am sure in many other cities, not only do citrus
trees line the streets but there is a small industry devoted to
harvesting and selling the fruit. Given that lead free petrol and
efficient carburation of fuel are but a distant dream in Asunción I
wonder what the health implications are. I guess that impurities would
be deposited on the outside of the fruit and that, unless you are
making marmalade, the fruit would be peeled before use but would the
trees take up the poisonous stuff too? And would the fruit be full of
it?

Nick O

[badriya]

Post by n***@yahoo.com

Post by Stephen

Post by badriya
A purely academic question, you understand, but can it apply to
oranges, or is there another term for those?  And lemons really are
free here.  They grow all along the roadside on trees not in anyone's
garden, just on the 'campo' - sort of scrubland.  My Spanish neighbour
assured me we can pick those, and also the oranges that you can reach
without going over fences.

In "Heavy as Lead" by Malcolm Torrie (a pseudonym of Gladys Mitchell),
the dodgy Baronet, Sir Ganymede Troggett, is described as scrumping
plants from rock gardens, but even then the idea that scrumping is
really about apples is made quite clear.
But language evolves, and if enough people start talking about
scrumping oranges or lemons, that is what the word will come to mean.

I feel that scrumping is really about apples just as scrumpy is really
about cider. But it's hard to think of lemon specific or orange
specific equivalents. Marmaling oranges? Ginantonicing lemons?

Squashing oranges and lemons has been suggested here.
And we drive along the road where the lemons grow, but it is a small
road with no pavements part of the way.

Post by n***@yahoo.com
In Asunción, as I am sure in many other cities, not only do citrus
trees line the streets but there is a small industry devoted to
harvesting and selling the fruit. Given that lead free petrol and
efficient carburation of fuel are but a distant dream in Asunción I
wonder what the health implications are. I guess that impurities would
be deposited on the outside of the fruit and that, unless you are
making marmalade, the fruit would be peeled before use but would the
trees take up the poisonous stuff too? And would the fruit be full of
it?
Nick O

[Mike McMillan]

Post by Stephen

Post by badriya
A purely academic question, you understand, but can it apply to
oranges, or is there another term for those? And lemons really are
free here. They grow all along the roadside on trees not in anyone's
garden, just on the 'campo' - sort of scrubland. My Spanish neighbour
assured me we can pick those, and also the oranges that you can reach
without going over fences.

In "Heavy as Lead" by Malcolm Torrie (a pseudonym of Gladys Mitchell),
the dodgy Baronet, Sir Ganymede Troggett, is described as scrumping
plants from rock gardens, but even then the idea that scrumping is
really about apples is made quite clear.
But language evolves, and if enough people start talking about
scrumping oranges or lemons, that is what the word will come to mean.

Whilst at boarding school in the early sixties, I well remember
the delicious pears that 'fell' from a tree in the centre play area
(between the boys' and the girls' playgrounds m'lud, on common ground so
to speak where the sexes were able to share the swings and slides. (cue
BrritSki) Anyway, I digress a little ...

One lunchtime, the duty master explained to the assembled diners
that it was not appreciated that some pupils appeared to be helping
themselves to the pears from said tree. We were warned 'If I see any of
you taking these pears from the tree, you will be in trouble'. This
master had long been a pedant and regularly demonstrated his liking for
accuracy in speech ... so ...

Some days later, we had a locker inspection - stand by your beds
lads, here we go. Now, it just so happened that my locker held a few
such fruit at the time and ... well... my locker was inspected by the
pedant. 'What did I say at dinner the other day McMillan?' 'Well Sir,
you said 'If I _see_ anyone taking the pears' .... at this point, the
pedant grinned... and walked on. ;-)))

Toodle Pips,

Mike

[chris mcmillan]

Post by Mike McMillan
Some days later, we had a locker inspection - stand by your beds
lads, here we go. Now, it just so happened that my locker held a few
such fruit at the time and ... well... my locker was inspected by the
pedant. '

No doubt you were expected to believe that the fruit ended up in
crumbles on your dining room tables ......

Sincerely Chris

[Plusnet]

Post by badriya
A purely academic question, you understand, but can it apply to
oranges, or is there another term for those? And lemons really are
free here. They grow all along the roadside on trees not in anyone's
garden, just on the 'campo' - sort of scrubland. My Spanish neighbour
assured me we can pick those, and also the oranges that you can reach
without going over fences.

Having consulted some long term memories I can report that I was lead
into the crime of scrumping[1] guzegogs (gooseberries) from Godber's
Lane as a very young child.

Thus I can report that, in one corner of Derbyshire at least, the word
was not restricted to apples.