QI: Now that we've done "Codling" - now its "Rock Bream"

If you're under 25 you're excluded from this.... I think

Was it just me that used to be driven nuts by people talking about "Rock Bream" (usually pronounced "Brae-em" around Bulloch on southside of Dublin County) in the 1970s and 80s? At what point did the light bulb go on and people realize the fish were "Wrasse."

Anyone know the origin of the misnaming of Wrasse as "Rock Bream"? Or was it just a Dublin thing? Even the Irish translation - Bailleach (ironically, the English was a load of...)- isn't close to a corruption....

I've always wondered...

Hi Uvox,
just to confuse you, head south and they were called rockey connors.

that would be a great user name...

my da and his mates used to call sea scorpions horny cobblers anyone else ever hear of that?

Heard of them being called stoney cobblers!

alright maybe he was calling one of his mates a horny cobbler

yeah i remember horny cobblers (another possible user name) - and when blennies were "stingoes".

maybe!

yes i used to go down to the BEACH in dunlaoghaire and fish for horney coddlers and stingoes in the rock pools you would get the odd rock bream aswell.

bug rock beside the baths was always good for rock bream.

john.....

i met a load of townies in dunlaoire harbour in the summer and they called them johnny gobblers !!!

stay away from them hen parties.

here's a Dalkey reference to ROck Bream from 1915: http://www.dalkeyhomepage.ie/eel.html