Drawing Room, Parlor, Living Room and other room names

In my house as a child, we didn't have a "drawing room," but I read about them in novels and heard the term used in movies. I wanted one.

A drawing room is a formal living room in a house, traditionally used for entertaining guests. Today, the term is less common in the U.S. (we’d just say "living room" and some old timers might say "sitting room"), but drawing room is still sometimes used in Britain, in historical fiction, and period dramas.

But who is drawing in these rooms?

The term comes from the 17th-century shortening of withdrawing room — a space where people could “withdraw” after dinner for conversation, tea, or other socializing, away from the more functional rooms like the dining room or kitchen.

In historic English and upper-class homes, the drawing room was usually elegantly furnished and he social hub for polite company. There was no eating of full meals there, but it was often positioned near the dining room for ease of transition after dinner, and there might be drinks and finger foods.

What are the differences between a drawing room, parlor, and living room, since they’re related but not identical?

Parlor, from the French parler (to speak), was originally a reception room for guests or clergy. In Victorian times, it was also a place for family events like weddings or funerals. It could be formal or semi-formal, depending on the household. Less exclusive than a drawing room, it might be where the family actually sat and talked.

As I said earlier, in my house we had a dining room and a living room, a term popularized in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as homes became less formal. It was a comfortable, everyday space for the family. Sometimes, we lounged there. Sometimes I napped or slept there after dozing off watching TV. It was also as formal as we could be with guests.

A drawing room says, “Let’s impress the guests.” A parlor says, “Let’s sit and talk.” The living room says, “Let’s relax and be ourselves.”

Back to Square One

Have you heard the phrase "back to square one" and wondered what and where is "square one?" It means to go back to the starting place. It may have once been a literal place, but now it is a metaphor for a restart. The phrase implies some perseverance and starting over rather than giving up. 

I assumed it had to do with some board game, and that may be correct. One origin story is that “square one” is the starting point of the game Snakes and Ladders. This 19th-century British board game came from an earlier ancient Hindu game called Moksha Patamu. Americans will know it as Chutes and Ladders, the still-popular children's game version created by Milton Bradley in 1943. They got rid of the scary snake and made chutes/slides.

 
The American game, with its literal "square 1"

In all three versions of the game, players roll dice and move across squares on the board, climbing ladders along the way. But if you land on a snake or a chute, you fall back to where you started - on square one. 

The second origin story I found seems less likely to have become widespread in usage. It comes from British football (soccer). When the earliest live radio broadcast of a British football game occurred in 1927, to help listeners picture the location of the ball during play, a grid diagram of the football pitch (soccer field) was printed in a newspaper. This might be similar to a diagram a coach would use to designate zones for players. Radio commentators referenced those grid numbers during the broadcast, and “square one” was the rear left quadrant of the defender’s side of the field. That’s where the goalie would initiate a new play after an attack failed. Therefore, the ball and the players were “back at square one.” 

How French Entered English After 1066

 

A recent trip to England, when I visited the present-day town of Battle, East Sussex, where the Battle of Hastings occurred, inspired me to do a series of posts about how the English language changed after that battle.

William the Conqueror of Normandy, France, invaded British soil, and these French-speaking Normans eventually defeated the Old English-speaking Saxons led by King Harold II at the Battle of Hastings on October 14, 1066. Language experts often cite this as the start of a period of time having a more pronounced effect on the development of the English language than any other event in history. 

Some changes occurred very quickly and others took longer to be accepted, but in the course of a few centuries, English went from being a strictly Germanic language to one infused with a large Latinate vocabulary, which came via French.

You can read all my posts about French into English, including this recent series covering words about legal topics, warfare, food, religion, government, literature, and even things of pleasure.