The use of the term ‘grockle’ should be banned in Burnham-On-Sea in an attempt to make the town more tourism-friendly, a councillor has proposed this week.
Town councillor Louise Parkin, right, who runs Burnham’s seafront pier, told a council meeting on Monday that the term is so negative it should be banned from use across the town.
“It’s always used in a very derogatory way for describing people who are vital to Burnham-On-Sea’s economy,” she said.
“Tourists are the life blood for many businesses here and we should be welcoming them with open arms and encouraging them to visit, not calling them this out-dated term.”
According to the Oxford Dictionary, ‘Grockle’ is an informal and often slightly derogatory term for a tourist. Some language scholars believe the term originates due to the similarity of red-faced tourists wearing baggy clothing with handkerchiefs on their heads to ‘Grock’, a clown and music-hall performer who was famous in the first half of the 20th century.
