Ghandek pancer? Gib l-istepni.
This is what an original Stepney wheel looked like.
Why is a spare wheel l-istepni in Maltese? There’s an explanation on the BBC’s A History of the World, which is operated together with the British Museum.
STEPNEY SPARE WHEEL, MADE FOR EARLY CARS
The Stepney Spare Wheel was invented by Thomas Morris Davies in Llanelli in 1904. At that time, early motor cars were made without spare wheels, so a puncture was an event dreaded by all drivers.
Mr. Davies’s brilliant idea was to make a spokeless wheel rim fitted with an inflated tyre.
Pretty soon T. Morris Davies and his brother Walter were in business, turning out spare wheels in their Llanelli works. They became very wealthy men as their business grew and they set up agencies across the world.
Their 1909 catalogue proudly claimed that Stepney Spare Wheels were fitted to all London taxis. In 1922 the company became Stepney Tyres Ltd and their operations moved from Llanelli to Walthamstow. The days of the patent spare wheel had drawn to a close, as car manufacturers began to provide spare wheels with all new cars. However, the name lived on, long after the last spare wheel was made. A “stepney” is still today the everyday name for a spare wheel in India, Bangladesh, Malta and Brazil, where it is called an “estepe”. A further twist to the tale is that in Dehli an easy going member of staff, who is not much help, can also be called a “stepney”.
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And here’s the link, lest I be lectured about it:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/objects/qPgTiS8fQ6SeIqZLvZVfXQ
…and lest you add it to the ‘article’ and taint its immaculacy.
Hi Daphne, I decided to stay indoors, to contribute further – we could have a third official language, after all.
Those my age used to say ”mela m’ghandekx hands” when referring to car indicators. In the past, small ‘hands’ used to pop out from either side of the car as an indicator.
And the word ‘hands” is still very popular, even today.
At ta’ nuna ‘English’ lessons, and English for beginners, classes of yesteryear, as an introduction, to ‘how easy’ it was, teachers gave an example, saying. ”Araw kemm hu hafif l-ingliz, ”UP up, up, il-fuq”. a few years before my childhood, though.
Even those a couple of decades younger than you would remember those cars.
I. for one, clearly remember being fascinated by a neighbour’s car which had such indicators, though they were more like arms than hands. I used to find it amusing seeing one pop out of the side when the driver was about to turn a corner. I believe the car may have been a Ford or similar.
More likely a Morris Minor or a Morris Touring – some can still be seen today though few have working “hands”.
Actually yes, I think it was a Morris Touring – with a greyish white body, navy blue roof, if I remember well.
And do you remember the starting handle, Karl?
Yes I did, Charles. It was nearing its end though.
Indeed it is! Sometimes, when people explain traffic accidents to me, they tell me “he used no ‘hands'”.
At first I used to be rather baffled. “What do you mean”, I once asked, my curiosity taking the better of me. “Where on earth were his hands?” My interlocutor burst out laughing. He then patiently explained what “hands” are – or rather, what they were.
Daphne, I’m sending you an invoice to cover my fee for the inspiration.
Joking apart, very few Brits, if any, would call the spare wheel ‘Stepney’.
Sorry Charles, but I claim that entitlement! However I offer my services free of charge.
Other motoring Maltenglish: “spartin plugs”, “safe starter”.
What is “makeinbreak”?
And while we’re at it – “shock absolvers”. Not sure if that’s Malglish or a bona fide malapropism, but sadly hilarious either way.
Inxurjan:
Turd part firing left = third party fire and theft
Comprehension = fully comprehensive
Full = fully comprehensive
Nuclear bonus = no claim discount
“very few Brits, if any, would call the spare wheel ‘Stepney’”
It doesn’t say much about the ‘evolution’ of Maltese then, does it?
Ghaziz Grezz, anke Peppi Azzopardi jghid “INXURJANS”
Very interesting… especially the final bit about the alternative usage of the word in Delhi.
As regards to “puncture”… a few months ago a colleague of mine came to our office asking for assistance with a puncture. As I got myself ready to go and help out, another colleague of mine handed over his paper puncher!
Thank God for the Net.
It took me a few days thirty five years ago to discover the origin of the stepni saga.
Whilst driving in the Lake District my father-in-law’s car tyre burst.
When I asked him, a Londoner to the bones, whether he had checked his stepni his jaw dropped. He thought I was taking the mickey out of him and told me very politely to pull his other leg.
Back in Surrey I was determined to prove myself right. After several hours in the local public library, Eureka.
This Stepney company had spread out from Walthamstow to Gizira Malta. They made spare wheels. I took grandpapa to the library and showed him the excerpt.
He is now 91 and still going strong. We still joke about “stepnies” whenever we pass some poor bloke on the side of the road nursing a flat tyre.
“A further twist to the tale is that in Delhi an easy-going member of staff, who is not much help, can also be called a “stepney”.
It is not the first time that I heard somebody say “iridni nservi ta’ stepney ghalih!”.
And, by the way, I think that, taking life so seriously, is even a worse problem than mispelling, etc., seriously speaking,now.
Wow – thanks. This was one of the mysteries of the language nobody I know was ever able to answer… and ironically it’s not even a corrupted version of the original word.
What about the gear wheel, gerwiela?
And Pappa Nerik for PN Giovan.
safe starter – self starter
buxu – Peugeot
Ung-leiha (Ford Anglia)
Zuzu (Isuzu)
Voxwaggin (Volkswagen)
Bee-emm (BMW)
Lend (Land Rover)
Sitroeeen = Citroen
Jagwart = Jaguar
Marcedes = Mercedes
Tiyota = Toyota
Vunn – Van
mutur Muchless = Matchless motor cycle
Triumf Heralt = Triumph Herald (the then British Leyland car)
Tyres Dullop = Dunlop tyres
In the 60s when Maltese emigrated to Australia en masse the letters sent mostly began, ”Ghaziza oht, qed niktiblek zewg kelmiet biex nghidlek li jien ninstab kollhox sew bhal ma nixtieq li din l-ittra ssib lilek. Chully tieghi qabad jahdem ma’ ta’ zokkor hu qieghed mhux hazin. Kif inhi il-ma? Sellili ghal kulhadd hu ghidilhom li nimmisjhom hafna.”
Joking apart, they were very sad times, but the only choice, especially for those who generally signed bis salib X, unfortunately.
u d-differejxin – differential
il-gakk
l-iskavejter
il-guzzwajer
Tiyota
check this out.
http://www.maltapark.com/item.asp?ItemID=726486
This item has been “Viewed 228 times”. If all the people who follow this blog have clicked this link, I sure think this guy will get an incredible amount of hits!
At least it’s not “rivers of moses” :))
I would also add:
“redifjuxin” instead of “rediffusion”
“mat gart” – instead of “mud guard”
“pene di spagna” instead of “pane di spagna”
“dak ta’ David” instead of “affidavit”
And my favourite:
“yogurt tal-Kliewi” instead of “yogurt tal-kiwi”.
For the record they call it Stepney in Barbados as well.
And while we’re at it, recently heard,
piskatra (psikjatra)
bone dancing (bone density)
HBC (HSBC)
sister in laws (sisters in law)
ghandi l-bunnies (ghandi l-bunions)
I don’t find anything wrong with stepni , this is just like biro.
@ Anthony Farrugia ‘Make and break’ is part of the ignition system.
We have Maltese names for hand brake which is ‘krik’ , horn is ‘tawwata’ and rotary arm is ‘wirdiena’. To be honest I don’t use these words, but I know people who use them. Instead of ‘doqqlu l-horn’ they say ‘tawwattlu’.
We call a car’s distributor rotor (part) a “wierdiena” !
We still refer to a car’s wing (right or left) as “maddgard” !
Some say Winscream for Windscreen.
Car/door handle as “poom”
Full speed as “gassdawn” or gass mal-pjanca.
Some refer to a car (“karozza” – feminine) as “armajtu dak l-Escort”. OR: “dahhal “Bijemm sabieh” ! “Hsiltu l-Mini ?
“Irrid nitfalu sterjow dak is-Sitjorin (Citroen)”
Some say Bagoll (luggage boot)
But the best one: Il-lejla ghabbejt (refering to giving a lift to a person of the opposite sex).
….and the list goes on.
Interesting find. But, of course, the use of trade marks as generic names is nothing new, either in Malta or abroad. I’ve heard people asking for “nugget (instead of shoe-polish) “Kiwi” and mickey mouse to signify any animated cartoon. Have a look at these:
Aspirin
Still a Bayer trademark name for acetylsalicylic acid in about 80 countries, including Canada and many countries in Europe, but declared generic in the U.S.
Cellophane
Still a registered trademark of Innovia Films Ltd in Europe and many other jurisdictions. Originally a trademark of DuPont
Escalator
Originally a trademark of Otis Elevator Company
Heroin
Trademarked by Friedrich Bayer & Co in 1898
Lanolin
Trademarked as the term for a preparation of sheep fat and water
Thermos
Originally a Thermos GmbH trademark name for a vacuum flask; declared generic in the U.S. in 1963
You can find many others. It is proof, if proof were needed, of the power of advertising.
And why do some people say ‘kaxxa Nugget’ instead of ‘a tin of Nugget’?
[Daphne – Why do they say Nugget at all? They’re probably using Kiwi.]
My father expressly recalls people asking for “kaxxa nugget kiwi”.
I’m totally fascinated by this post. I love learning about the origins of words and all this is absolutely fascinating!
Hoover for vacuum cleaner
Hoover
Biro
Coke
I saw a man try to squeeze between two cars to get onto the pavement. He yelped with pain and when I asked him what happened, he told me: “Hbadt sieqi mal-mainguard.”
So while the leader is Down Under, Inspector Gadget is the Stepney.
Speaking of wheels and Delhi, I once read that a tyre repair shop in that city had a sign saying “Punctures made here.”
Biro, stepney, spam, etc. = eponyms
tini kaxxa nugget kiwi biro=all ballpens geyser=water heater
instead of water heater == geyser. biro=all ballpens . . at the shop,`tini landa nugget,kiwi. all glue was sokkotin……..sokkotin is a brand name