A Tea Time Quiz - Ten Occupational 'T's

Answer: Tasker

A person whose job involves carrying out a single, often repetitive, task is sometimes described as a 'tasker'. However, the job title is chiefly associated with agricultural labourers who were 'tasked' with threshing corn prior to the mechanisation of the process in the late 18th century. A flail was a piece of metal or wood attached to a handle that could be swung at sheaves of corn to separate the grain from the straw. This method of threshing corn was extremely labour intensive and as a result workers were often employed under a 'piecework model' - i.e. they were paid according to the amount of grain they were able to produce each day.

Famous people named Tasker include a former member of the Buffalo Bills American football team (Steve Tasker) and an 18th century English poet (William Tasker).

Answer: Taylor

The origins of the surname Taylor are exactly the same as the name Tailor, although that bears a more obvious resemblance in its spelling to the skilled occupation that involves cutting and fitting bespoke clothing. The term derives from 'tailleur', an Old French word meaning 'cutter'. While it was a common job several hundred years ago, nowadays tailors are generally restricted to high-end retailers and particularly associated with men's suits. Most clothing stores now sell mass-produced items in a fixed range of standard sizes.

Taylor is also commonly used as a first name for both boys and girls. Singer Taylor Swift and actor Taylor Lautner come to mind as two well-known examples.

Answer: Thacker

The quintessential English country cottage with a thatched roof and roses around the door would not be possible to maintain if nobody signed up for a job as a thatcher. While Thatcher is the more common variant of the occupational surname based on this trade (anyone remember Margaret Thatcher, England's first female Prime Minister?), the surname Thacker also comes from the same derivation. A thatched roof made of straw will only last on average around 15-25 years, so a thatcher should be able to expect regular employment (other thatching materials such as water reed will last a lot longer though...)

Hugh Grant played a slightly clumsy bookshop owner named Will Thacker in the 1999 film 'Notting Hill'.

Answer: Tanner

The surname Tanner derives from the old occupation of tanning leather, rather than anything to do with tanning human skin (either naturally or with fake tan). Tanning is a chemical process to change the structure of the skins to make them tougher and less likely to deteriorate over time. It is an ancient process, as leather is known to have been produced for at least 10,000 years, and is named after tannin - an astringent compound that was often used in the process.

Characters named Tanner appear in a variety of literary works, TV programmes and films. These include the Tanner family on US sitcom 'Full House', Jack Tanner in George Bernard Shaw's play 'Man and Superman' and Bill Tanner, the MI6 Chief of Staff in the 'James Bond' film series.

Answer: Tinker

A tinker was a person whose job involved the maintenance and repair of items made from tin, such as pots, pans and household utensils. The surnames Tinker and Tinkler both derive from this now obsolete occupation (so people with either of these names might need to reconsider any decisions they've taken to follow in their ancestors' occupational footsteps). The term 'tinker' is now more commonly associated with the idea of meddling or constantly adjusting something in the hope of making improvements to it.

One noted Tinker from history is Clarence L. Tinker, the first Native American man to reach the rank of Major-General in the U.S. Army. He achieved this in January 1942 but was killed less than six months later in the Battle of Midway. His name was later given to an Air Force base in Oklahoma.

Answer: Tupper

The derivation of the surname Shepherd from "herder of sheep" is quite obvious, but the surname associated with a herder of rams is Tupper rather than "Ramherd". It derived from the Middle English word 'toupe', meaning 'ram'. The German occupational surname Tüpper (note the umlaut over the 'u') has a completely different meaning as it derives from an old German word for a potter.

Arguably, the most famous person to have borne the name Tupper is Earl Silas Tupper - who invented the range of plastic food storage containers called Tupperware. Given the worldwide fame of Tupperware, it could make more sense for a discontented modern worker to seek a new job in Tupperware sales rather than attempt to take control of an unsupervised herd of rams.

Answer: Tucker

The terms 'fulling', 'tucking' and 'walking' all refer to the same procedure used in the clothmaking industry. Fulling is particularly associated with the preparation of materials made from natural fibres such as wool and is necessary to remove natural impurities, as well as oily residues and dirt. (After all, you can't put a sheep in a washing machine to clean the wool before shearing!) The process dates back to at least the Roman period and originally involved immersing the cloth in urine and then getting slaves to stamp on it. By the medieval period, tuckers (or fullers) would still be employed to stamp on the cloth, but soap and water had at least been introduced! The industrial revolution mechanised the process - so this job also probably isn't an option for a modern 21st century worker.

In England, the surname Tucker is believed to relate to this old occupation and derives from the Old English word 'tucian' ('to torment'). However, in Ireland and the Netherlands the name derives from different meanings. The name features in the nursery rhyme 'Little Tommy Tucker', but that character "sang for his supper" rather than earning it by tramping around on wool.

Answer: Travers

Charges for using roads are known as tolls and date back thousands of years. Historically the job of a toll collector would have involved collecting fees from anyone passing his (or her) toll gate with different rates charged for people on foot, driving animals, riding a horse, pulling a cart or travelling in a grand carriage. In modern times they are normally associated with travel across bridges, use of new roads or entering express lanes on existing roads and are often used to recoup the costs of building or improving the infrastructure.

Travers can be an occupational surname associated with a toll collector and derives from the French 'traverser' meaning 'to cross'. The surname Toller derives from the same occupation but is also associated with general tax collection. Fans of J.K. Rowling's 'Harry Potter' series will remember that one of Lord Voldemort's Death Eaters was called Travers.

Answer: Tyler

While thatchers are handy people to employ if you have a straw roof in need of repair, a tiler is probably the person you would want to consult if you need a slate or tiled roof mended or replaced. However, tiles are not limited to roofs, so historically tilers would have been involved in making floor tiles, wall tiles and roof tiles. The use of tiles dates back many hundreds (and possibly thousands) of years, particularly in high status buildings such as palaces, churches, monasteries and mosques.

Wat Tyler was the leader of the Peasants' Revolt in England in 1381. Although the details of his background are not certain, he is commonly described as either being a tiler himself or being the son of a tiler.

Answer: Turner

As an occupational surname, Turner is most commonly believed to derive from the process of 'turning' wood on a machine like a lathe in order to create smooth curved surfaces. However, there are other possible derivations, such as the French surname LeTourneau (whose meaning has nothing to do with woodworking).

While lathes might seem like relatively complex machines, they were actually invented in Ancient Egypt. However, they have been continuously updated and improved - a modern computer-controlled lathe bears little resemblance to the original Egyptian lathe that involved two people and a rope.

Turner is a very common surname in the English-speaking world. Famous holders of it include the English artist J.M.W. Turner, Oscar-nominated actress Lana Turner and singer Tina Turner (although she chose it as a stage name).