Tottenham shall turn French

I recently came across an old saying that I had never heard before – “Tottenham shall turn French” – which, when it used to be used, seems to have meant “pigs will fly”.

There is though some controversy over its meaning because Francis Grose’s A Provincial Glossary (1787), gives the phrase as “Tottenham is turned French”. He gives its origin in immigration: “About the beginning of the reign of Henry VIII a vast number of French mechanics came over to England, filling not only the outskirts of the town but also the neighbouring villages.” He gave it a slightly different meaning: “This proverb is used in ridicule of persons affecting foreign fashions and manners, in preference to those of their own country”.

This book does give a “pigs will fly” proverb featuring Tottenham, but it is “You shall as easily remove Tottenham-wood” which was, at the time, enormous and therefore an apparently impossible task. Now it is about as meaningful as to say, “You shall as easily watch a property show on TV”.