48 FRONT RD |
Newfoundland Tourism Region : Avalon
Dildo: Located on the Avalon Peninsula, not unlike Cottlesville (and perhaps Cottrell's Cove), the derivation of the town's name may refer to an inanimate object in common use back in the 1700s.
As far back as 1711, a small island off the west coast of the Avalon Peninsula, probably long before the word "dildo" took on its "new meaning" was recorded as "Dildoe Island".
Dildoe Island (or now referred to as Dildo Island is the largest of three islands located at the entrance to Dildo Tip in the bottom of Trinity Bay.
According to a recent article by Jennings (2013) dildo could refer to any of the following objects: a "cylindrical object, from nautical pins to test tubes"; a "tree"; and "a nonsense syllable used in song refrains". Other possibilities, according to Brooks (2013) include a "short sword", an Aboriginal word meaning "still waters" as well as a reference to the word "doldrums" also referring to calm, windless water.
The DNLE defines the words "dilly-dalls" and "dilly dolly" are "periods of deal calm at sea". Since the island was named Dildoe Island long before English-speaking people settled there, and it was an island used by French fishermen to obtain fresh water, the French expression de l'isle de lean, which translated into English means "the island with water' is a strong contender as to the providence of the island's name.
Many writers have suggested that Captain James Cook, known for his "odd" sense of humor, gave the name to the island, however, others believe that it is quite unlikely because the island's name was used long before Cook began surveying that area in the mid late 1700s.
The town of Dildo was not founded until just before the turn of the 19th century. Brooks' seems to be surprised that the ENL "with all its reporting on place names in the province, was silent when it came to Dildo".
This is possibly because the Volume in which the words starting with the letter "D" (Volume I) was published in 1981, not in 2020 and forty years ago, people were perhaps a bit more "prudish" or "reserved" than today.
Interestingly the DNLE does not define the term "dildo" either and it was written a decade later! Like the "Geographical Romance" found in Chapter 1, Dildo has been "immortalized in the song "A night on the Dildo" by Arrogant Worms:
A Night on the Dildo By Arrogant Worms
Umm, so this is a song about Newfoundland, and we wrote it about the place names and all you have to know is that all the place names in this song are real place names that we found in an atlas, 'cause we can read! Yeah, we can read! Yeah,
literacy!
Oh Newfoundland, oh Newfoundland, ya island in the sea
I love you oh so very much, I joined the Ministry
To show you people 'round the rock when tourist season's here Although in my opinion it's a gem throughout the year
Well if you're one for swimming, don't think it's outta reach You can go and take a dip along Groswater Beach
I know the name's misleading, that's quite a problem here Instead let's go to Goobies and have ourselves a beer
From Woody Point to Come-By-Chance to good ol' Ferryland Come take a look at Gander, Blackhead's mighty grand
Don't let the names deceive you, Newfoundland's mighty fine So spend a night on Dildo if you think you've got the time
Well you can go to Blow-Me-Down before it get's to dark (GASP) Oh sorry ma'am, I should have said, that's our provincial park
There's also Whippet Harbour, or maybe Butter Pot
Or maybe I'll just hit the pub I'm feeling like a shot Well you can sail on Quidi Vidi, or look at Joe Batt's Arm
There's Placentia and there's Cow Head (MOOO!), they're so full of charm Get married down in Kilbride, have a party in Hate Bay Or have some screech in Fogo and forget about the day
From Woody Point to Come-By-Chance to good ol' Ferryland Come take a look at Gander, Blackhead's mighty grand
Don't let the names deceive you, Newfoundland's mighty fine So spend a night on Dildo if you think you've got the time
Okay, the Drinkin' Verse
*sing drunkenly here*
From Woody Point to Come-By-Chance to good ol' Ferryland Come take a look at Gander, Blackhead's mighty grand Don't let the names deceive you, Newfoundland's mighty fine So spend a night on Dildo if you think you've got the time So spend a night on Dildo if you think you've got the time So spend a night on Dildo if you think you've got the time COD!
Used with permission from "Uncovering the Origin of 1001 Unique Place Names in Newfoundland and Labrador" 2021 Jennifer Leigh Hill
Address of this page: http://nl.ruralroutes.com/Dildo