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But rat catcher was an occupation then, why not rat sorter? Cliff inspector may well have been a misspelling for "chief inspector", don't you think?
maybe, but there really are cliff inspectors who keep track of the stability of cliffs and other rock formations. In areas high in clay or chalk it is a necessity. Lest a town shear off into the sea or whatnot. The guy we brought in was a geological maintenance technician or some such. A cliff inspector. Maybe Abberline strode through the countryside poking at geological formations with his cane, pronouncing them either fit or not.
There are still ostrich feather curlers, and there are still cliff inspectors though they are called something else now. We had one come take a look at the cliff behind our house so we could determine whether or not we were going to wake up one day under a ton of rubble. So far so good.
Rat sorter is new...
But rat catcher was an occupation then, why not rat sorter? Cliff inspector may well have been a misspelling for "chief inspector", don't you think?
I was trawling through some census records, and a few of the occupations listed made me chuckle. Was 'ostrich feather curler' a real profession, or some sort of elaborate Victorian euphemism? 'Rat sorter' should make a comeback, everyone knows how annoying it is when your rodents get muddled up. And apparently Abberline was some sort of geologist, as he's described as a 'retired cliff inspector'.
Spotted any others?
There are still ostrich feather curlers, and there are still cliff inspectors though they are called something else now. We had one come take a look at the cliff behind our house so we could determine whether or not we were going to wake up one day under a ton of rubble. So far so good.
I was trawling through some census records, and a few of the occupations listed made me chuckle. Was 'ostrich feather curler' a real profession, or some sort of elaborate Victorian euphemism? 'Rat sorter' should make a comeback, everyone knows how annoying it is when your rodents get muddled up. And apparently Abberline was some sort of geologist, as he's described as a 'retired cliff inspector'.
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