daps

[goldenboy]

are daps (when referring to plimsoles of a paricular type, black with an elastic tongue bit)) only called this in the west country or is it more widespread?

[Artful]

Never heard it B4 and my family come from Newcastle (Mam's side) and London (Dad's side) and I grew up in Essex. So perhaps it is west country.

[gen2]

I can also rule out Sussex and Fife.

[kempie]

The DAP (Dunlop Athletic Plimsoll) does indeed seem to be a colloquial term peculiar to Wales and the South West.

http://www.thatbebristle.co.uk/dictionary/d.shtml

http://wordwizard.com/ch_forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=5633&SearchTerms=daps

[goldenboy]

cheers kempie, i grew up in swindon and used to think it was restricted to there. We used to get the dap instead of the cane at school. but thanks for actually revealling what it stood for, I just thought it was our yokel's imagination.

[maxi29]

I come from a Welsh family so they were always called daps at home. But as I was born and brought up in Brighton, people at school didn't have a clue what I was talking about: it was my first experience of a communication breakdown.

[Kay]

Im welsh and have always said Daps:--)

[Philtaz]

I'm Welsh and had never heard it up until I joined the Army, where everyone referred to them as daps.

[goldenboy]

my dad was in the airforce and used they used to refer to army personel as 'brownjobs', I presume because of the uniform. I never asked him about the Daps but he went to school in wooton under edge in gloucestershire, so he probably grew up with daps the same as me.