- Mon Oct 31, 2005 10:08 pm
#203880
No you don't. "Berkshire' is pronounced "Barkshire", I know because my brother lives there. Your etymology could hold some truth though, because I do recall Del Boy referring to someone as a 'bark' on Only Fools and Horses.
After doing some research, I think we're both right. Burke can be a verb that refers to a question or statement that is silenced as soon as it is raised. This derived from the name of William Burke who was hanged in 1829 for suffocating people to sell their bodies for dissection.
It is also * Rhyming Slang for 'c*nt', after Berkley/Berkshire Hunt. I assume the pronunciation can vary.