Great Wen

9.9

An insulting name for London because it grew fast and became crowded and dirty

proper noun

Offensive

: Gran Wen

Many writers of the 19th century denounced the Great Wen for its squalor and overcrowding.

Examples

The relentless expansion of the Great Wen was a concern among social critics of the era.
Many people refer to London as the Great Wen due to its rapid expansion.
After moving to the countryside, he refused to return to the Great Wen.
The Great Wen is a nickname for London.
Many writers of the 19th century denounced the Great Wen for its squalor and overcrowding.
The relentless expansion of the Great Wen was a concern among social critics of the era.
Many people refer to London as the Great Wen due to its rapid expansion.

Surface Forms

Great Wen main

Morphology

great + Wen

The parts 'great' + 'wen' literally yield 'large swelling' and that metaphorical mapping (a city as a blot or tumor) makes the disparaging sense inferable if a learner actually knows the rare/archaic noun 'wen'. However 'wen' is obscure/not in common dictionaries and the specific application to London as a historical nickname requires cultural knowledge, so the connection is only partially predictable.

Etymology

Great Wen was a nickname used by a 19th-century writer who compared London to a wen, a word for an ugly, painful 'boil' or lump on the skin. So, by calling the city a wen that kept growing, he meant it was a large, unwanted place with social problems.