The word barbary as a common noun

Barbary is a proper noun, the historical name of a region of North Africa. The words you are looking for are barbarity or barbarism which both mean the same thing (extreme cruelty or brutality).

I always thought it was a kingdom of talking elephants.

Isn't that Burberry? Oops, that's a raincoat.

Seriously, that correct word choice should be barbarism not Barbary .

I have a red barbary. its a bloody nice bush it is.
(Im watching Endeavor and all the Brit accents are catching up a bit Im afraid)

I miss seeing barbary shop poles.


Er, barber shop..

Inspector Thursday is my favourite character in that.

Keep an eye out for the newspaper editor, as she is John Thaw's daughter.

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We still have barber's poles, Osso. Red stripe for blood, white for bandages.

I have 2 or 3 Burberry ties. NovaCheck design. I like them as much as it is possible to like a tie.

I just looked up barberry bushes, which grew in my last home area but I'd not seen here, and.. ta da!, they do grow in Albuquerque. This is handy news..

Didn't they used to have leeches where they used to bleed a sucker..err a client?

good to see you..

made me laugh..

I've never had a Burberry anything but I do have a great London Fog coat (salvation army buy, of course, the Santa Monica salvy was soooo great).

Speaking of old coats, besides the London Fog one I have that is actually still normal looking, still nice and warming, I've a bunch of coats I got from thrift shops quite a while ago that I can't bear to throw out because they are so beautiful.. especially the dark blue velvety one from the Wilkes Bashford firm, if I remember - a man's coat. What they have in common is big widish shoulders. Even our local consignment shop won't take them.
I suppose I should try to sell them as antiques.

are wide shoulder designs ever ever ever coming back?

Maybe I'll have to start a trend myself, an elder woman wearing peculiar but interesting clothes. Or open a museum..

http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/people/barbersurgeons.aspx

Word Origin and History for Barbary

c.1300, "foreign lands" (especially non-Christian lands), from Latin barbaria (see barbarian ). Meaning "Saracens living in coastal North Africa" is attested from 1590s, via French (Old French barbarie), from Arabic Barbar, Berber, ancient Arabic name for the inhabitants of North Africa beyond Egypt. Perhaps a native name, perhaps an Arabic word, from barbara "to babble confusedly," but this might be ultimately from Greek barbaria. "The actual relations (if any) of the Arabic and Gr[eek] words cannot be settled; but in European langs. barbaria, Barbarie, Barbary, have from the first been treated as identical with L. barbaria, Byzantine Gr[eek] barbaria land of barbarians" [OED].