HONG KONG is a city of streets. Many names were created during the British Colonial era, such as Kennedy Road, and some have interesting stories behind them.

In the case of Tsat Tsz Mui Road, when the place was just a shoreline, there was a group of rocks known as Tsat Tsz Mui, or the “seven sisters”. These sisters are part of a local legend about a group of girls who died on the same day, but then the same number of rocks appeared in the water the day after. Sadly, the shore was reclaimed, so the rocks are buried.

Stone Nullah Lane refers to a stone channel that was built around 1841 to divert water from Victoria Peak down into the harbour. A street was built next to it later, named after the stone nullah. But, in 1959 the channel was moved underground, so it is not really a “nullah” – the Indian English term for a channel of water – anymore.

Yee Wo Street gets its name from Ewo Hong, a very successful merchant group in Guangzhou, and “Yee Wo” began to appear in Hong Kong when local Jardines company used it.

Interestingly, no one can agree how Rednaxela Terrace got its name. A common story is that the street belonged to a man named Alexander, and when Chinese locals recorded it, they copied the letters in the wrong order: English is read from right to left, but Chinese is read from left to right

Credits: Issue 06, 3 November 2022 (Thursday) by Quest from hkej

1. era (n) 年代

2. shoreline (n) 海岸線

3. reclaim (v) 填海

4. channel (n) 管道

5. divert (v) 轉移

6. merchant (n) 商人

IRONY is a situation when something has the opposite or different result. In the case of some of these street names, the things that they were named after no longer exist.

Stone Nullah Lane, for instance, got its name from the stone channel that was already there. But the original stone nullah is now an underground channel, so it is ironic that the street name survives to this day, despite the actual structure not being visible anymore.

Credits: Issue 08, 17 November 2022 (Thursday) by Quest from hkej

Irony is when someone says something but means the opposite or a different meaning.

1. “Oh, I just love getting stuck in traffic!” – Nobody actually likes getting stuck in traffic.

2. “What a beautiful day.” – If being said during a thunderstorm, the day is not actually beautiful.

3. “Great, just what I needed!” – If being said after missing a train, it is actually not a desired outcome.

4. “Oh, I just love waiting forever to buy a carton of milk.” – If being said while waiting for a long time, it is actually not fun.

5. “Oh, I’m a genius, aren’t I?” – Usually used after doing something not so smart.

Below are links to free English Language Learning Materials:

BBC English

Speak Street Worksheet

British Council Learn English

Caro Kowanz English