I mentioned that some words elide, some so much that their original source or meaning is erased. I'll mention a coupIe I like and hope to receive more. The word tawdry means cheap, gaudy. Originally it was St. Audrey's lace, referring to inexpensive copies of finery sold at country fairs in the early 17th century. St. Audrey elided into tawdry. Audrey is an elision of Etheldrida, a saint who died in the 7th century. One of my favourite elisions that you need a guide for is PIcketwire. It's a river in the southern United States, mapped by French explorers (anybody remember Dollard?) and named for its hellish rapids - Purgatoire. Say it fast enough (with a southern drawl) and it becomes Pickdetwire. Love it. There's an old old joke about the Canadian who went to Britain and spoke to a friend about the places he was going to, like, Wor-cest-er-shire. No, no, his friend corrected him, that's Wooster. What about Feather-stone-ha(ugh)?That's Fest-on-ah. Chiswick is Chisick, that's easy. Later, the Brit visited Canada and saw his friend, who asked him where he was going next. To Niagara Falls. Oh, said his friend, you mean Niffles. Does anyone remember that one?