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  1. #1
    Player
    Eloah's Avatar
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    Jan 2015
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    Gridania
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    Toki Tsuchimi
    World
    Siren
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    Scholar Lv 100

    Question about Holminster Switch.

    So something piqued my interest the other day, when I got Holminster Switch in a leveling roulette. What does the "switch" in the name mean?

    It's clear from the Japanese name, that the village is just named Holminster. So then, why was switch added to the English name? One of my FC mates suggested, it's called switch because "the story switches things up". That's not a bad theory, but it hardly has any weight to it. I believe the switch in the title refers to a whip used for torture. This fits with the rest of the mechanics in the dungeon that are named after torture devices.

    But then that still begs the question, why switch? Is it a nice way of saying the "Torture of Holminster"? I mean the Japanese title is literally, Village Massacre Holminster, so maybe. Or was the town used as a prison? We know the Lightwarden was a former prisoner, but Holminster was there home town, I believe, not where they were imprisoned.

    Does anyone have any insight on this? Like are the French and German names any different? Or was there any dialogue that might explain things a bit more?
    (2)
    I like helping people with their Job ideas, it's fun to help them visuallize and create the job they'd like to play most. Plus I make my own too, I'll post them eventually.

  2. #2
    Player
    Enkidoh's Avatar
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    Dec 2012
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    Ala Mhigo
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    8,246
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    Enkidoh Roux
    World
    Balmung
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    Paladin Lv 90
    I... don't think we ever got an explanation, it just was. Unless it was a phonetic translation of something else, but I admit I have absolutely no idea. Sounds like a question for a Fanfest!
    (0)
    Quote Originally Posted by Rannie View Post
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  3. #3
    Player
    Iscah's Avatar
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    Nov 2017
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    Aurelie Moonsong
    World
    Bismarck
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    Summoner Lv 90
    I had in mind that it was a synonym for "woods" but I can't remember if I had the idea from elsewhere or if I guessed it based on the dungeon name and never got around to confirming with a dictionary.

    Having looked for it now, it doesn't seem to be a valid meaning, although apparently the etymology does possibly originate from "twig".
    (1)

  4. #4
    Player
    LeonKeyh's Avatar
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    May 2020
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    Gridania
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    Leon Keyh
    World
    Cactuar
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    Dragoon Lv 90
    Quote Originally Posted by Iscah View Post
    I had in mind that it was a synonym for "woods" but I can't remember if I had the idea from elsewhere or if I guessed it based on the dungeon name and never got around to confirming with a dictionary.

    Having looked for it now, it doesn't seem to be a valid meaning, although apparently the etymology does possibly originate from "twig".

    A "switch" is slang for a stick that you punish children with. I had always thought that it was a combination of "you're about to be emotionally beaten" and a reference to the forest surrounding Holminster.
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  5. #5
    Player
    Iscah's Avatar
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    Nov 2017
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    Aurelie Moonsong
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    Bismarck
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    Summoner Lv 90
    That's sort of what I was thinking of, I think. "If 'switch' can mean a wooden rod, maybe the word can also mean a small tree, and from there a small forest, so that would add up as the forest outside the village of Holminster."

    Wrong guess, apparently, but it made sense at the time.

    Having double-checked the quest dialogue for The Lightwardens it seems more that Holminster Switch is the name of the village itself (I may have previously misread the "village lies beyond" line about the staging point), so whatever the exact meaning of it is, the whole dungeon title is just a place name and not "something happening to Holminster".
    (1)

  6. #6
    Player
    Eloah's Avatar
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    Toki Tsuchimi
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    Siren
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    Scholar Lv 100
    Quote Originally Posted by Iscah View Post
    Having double-checked the quest dialogue for The Lightwardens it seems more that Holminster Switch is the name of the village itself (I may have previously misread the "village lies beyond" line about the staging point), so whatever the exact meaning of it is, the whole dungeon title is just a place name and not "something happening to Holminster".
    That's what I thought too. But while Lyna initially calls it Holminster Switch, the Exarch later just says Holminster. So Switch isn't needed to identify the town.
    (0)
    I like helping people with their Job ideas, it's fun to help them visuallize and create the job they'd like to play most. Plus I make my own too, I'll post them eventually.

  7. #7
    Player
    Iscah's Avatar
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    Aurelie Moonsong
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    Bismarck
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    Summoner Lv 90
    Quote Originally Posted by Eloah View Post
    That's what I thought too. But while Lyna initially calls it Holminster Switch, the Exarch later just says Holminster. So Switch isn't needed to identify the town.
    Yes, but we say "Limsa" all the time and I'm pretty sure the characters do too. Shortening it to the recognisable part instead of saying the full name every time is just automatic.
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  8. #8
    Player
    Eloah's Avatar
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    Toki Tsuchimi
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    Siren
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    Scholar Lv 100
    Quote Originally Posted by Iscah View Post
    Yes, but we say "Limsa" all the time and I'm pretty sure the characters do too. Shortening it to the recognisable part instead of saying the full name every time is just automatic.
    True, but there is the fact that in Japanese it's just Holminster, so Switch is an added part in at least English.

    I'll need to keep an eye out for the next Q&A so I can ask this question, if I remember, lol.
    (1)
    I like helping people with their Job ideas, it's fun to help them visuallize and create the job they'd like to play most. Plus I make my own too, I'll post them eventually.

  9. #9
    Player
    Rongway's Avatar
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    Cyrillo Rongway
    World
    Hyperion
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    Black Mage Lv 100
    Might they have named it "Switch" in reference to the crossroads in the center of the village? That's the closest thing I can think of to a "switch" here, and it wouldn't be the first time the localizers have chosen a "that's not what this word usually means but it's close enough and it might sound cool" word for something.
    (3)