anicas midden

[wishy]

A friend of mine from Glasgow often refers to a messy place as anicas midden (don't know about the spelling) nobody knows anything about it only it was a saying used by his grandmother

[jno]

a midden was a rubbish tip or dungheap, but I don't know who Anneka, if it's a person, might be

[weeal]

Anakers Midden is a well known Glasgow saying, my dad used it but surprisingly I cant find anything on the web about it. No help Im afraid.

[stewey]

A 'knacker' is a term for someone who collects old stuff, odds and ends, for salvage value: a rag and bone man? Therefore, you get the term 'A knackers midden'. The term 'midden has already been described.

[jno]

aha, brilliant work, stewey

http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/LANARK/20 03-02/1045958499

[Fink-Knottle]

Respect Stewey!

[stewey]

Thanks, guys. What 'clicked' it for me was the different spellings of 'anica' by wishy, jno, and weeal, plus remembering that, when I was a kid, some of the older people referred to rag'n bone men as knackers.

[jrcadams]

A "midden" is a term used in archeology to describe an ancient pile of refuse. Pot shards and other objects of interest are often found in middens.

[aboylegolcom]

Stewey -- I'm not sure I buy your explanation. "Knacker" is a term in general use throughout the UK, but "Anica's Midden" (or whatever) is apparently unique to Glasgow. I heard the term dozens of times growing up. I could be wrong, but I don't think a native speaker of English would consistently and repeatedly mistake "a knacker's midden" for "anica's midden" because the syllable stress is quite different between the two phrases. Here's an alternate etymology dating from 2001 that I found on the web. (The guy never did follow up as promised.)

I was brought up in Paisley, and had never heard the expression "it's like
Annaker's midden" as it's a peculiarly Glasgow (especially east end of
Glasgow) expression. My wife's family use it to describe anything especially
jumbled, messy, smelly or unsavoury, and my father-in-law said it stemmed
from an old (possibly 19th century) Glasgow butcher's firm whose backyard
was a particularly unpleasant dumping ground for the bits that couldn't be
sold. He wasn't sure of the correct spelling of the name or location of the
shop. However, about 15 years ago, I was driving through Bridgeton Cross,
and one of the shops on the south side of London Road, opposite the
bandstand was being renovated. The modern shop front had been removed, and
underneath was the original Victorian facade with the clear outline of the
old lettering. I wish I had written it down, as I now can't be sure whether
it was spelled Annaker or Anniker, but I think it was the former. It would
be interesting to know if that shop was the original source of the
expression, or perhaps it was just one of several branches. I'm sure the
Mitchell Library has the answer somewhere in it. I'll ask next time I'm in
and report back.

[SandyScot]

I suggest you have a look at this link: http://archiver.roots...OW/2001-09/0999819087
Regards, Sandy