Why do British pubs have such peculiar names?

Some interesting ones: The Goat and Compasses. This was originally “God encompasses us” - God is all around - but got garbled over the generations. There is a pub in South London called “the Elephant and Castle”. read more

Many other pubs have similar stories, or refer to traditions no longer practiced. For example pubs named “The Hollybush” are reputedly referring back to the English answer to the ancient Roman practice of hanging vines outside of taverns. Britain does not have such a supply of vines, and so they imitated the practice with holly berries. read more

British pubs began life as "public houses": centuries ago, when gin was the cause of so much alcoholism and all the social problems that come with it, people were encouraged to open their homes to the general public and sell beer; this actually worked by helping to wean people off the hard stuff onto the relatively harmless stuff. read more