Talk:Hook Head

Origin of "by Hook or by Crook"
I removed the following section:


 * The phrase "by Hook or by Crook" allegedly entered the English language during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland (1649-53) when Oliver Cromwell stated he would attack Waterford city "by Hook or by Crooke" - Crook Head being a small headland on the opposite side of the Suir estuary.


 * (But it is also said that "by hook or by crook" meant the allowed ways of commonly collecting firewood in old times: a blunt tool that could dislodge dead branches, not a sharp tool that could cut live wood.)

According to http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/82400.html, the phrase dates back at latest to the 14th c., too early for Cromwell. Jeff Worthington 17:59, 11 August 2006 (UTC)


 * So if Cromwell said it he was probably just trying to be punny. (Sarah777 06:46, 27 September 2007 (UTC))


 * Ironically,the above joke (a good one) is not itself a pun, but rather a play on words.