Too Muck for Crick

A willing and an honest Englishman, one Mr. Crick, has been driven nearly distracted during the past six months, trying to serve as postmaster in the Welsh village of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.

Poor Mr. Crick has amply proved that he has no flair for names of 58 letters and longer. Local Welshmen and Welshwomen have been getting each other's mail, and opening some of it, too. In despair, last week, Postmaster Crick resigned and enlisted in the Navy. Therefore Sir William Mitchell Thomson, His Majesty's Postmaster General, was earnestly besought to send a Welshman to juggle polysyllables in Sailor Crick's stead. Darkly brooding upon this matter, Sir William fretfully observed to correspondents that "doubts exist whether the spelling of the town's name really is L-l-a-n-f-a-i-r-p-w-l-l-g-w-y-n-g-y-l-l-g-o-g-e-r-y-c-h-w-y-r-n-d-r-o-b -w-l-l-l-l-a-n-t-y-s-i-l-i-o-g-o-g-o-g-o-c-h.

In order to grapple with the name, translate it, and pronounce it, the 58 letters must be broken up into twelve groups, thus:

Welsh English Pronunciation Literal Translation

Llan than church

fair vire Mary

pwll puth a hollow

gwyn goowin white

gyll gith hazel

goger goger near to

y wh the

chwyrn choowirn rapid

drobwll brobuth whirlpool

llantysilio thantisilio church saints name

gogo gogo cave

goch goch red

Freely translated the name (really a long phrase) means: The Church of Saint Mary in a hollow of white hazel near to the rapid whirlpool by a red cave.