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A big book of words was brought forth to my north.
A prominent Turkish-born priest to my east.
A bad taste was left in French mouths to my south.
Criminals are put to the test to my west.

Named after something you'd find in a harbour,
likely best known for a murderous person.

What am I?

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Ok, again I think I got this.

Fleet Street, in London.

I was confused by the fact that...

The two last lines didn't rhyme! But what does rhyme with harbour? Hmm, I don't know... Barber?

A murderous barber? Sweeney Todd? From Fleet Street? You can definitely find a fleet in a harbour.

So, let's go backwards to fit in the four clues:

EAST

East of Fleet Street is St. Paul's Cathedral. St. Paul was born in Turkey. Maybe not exactly a priest, but it's too much of a coincidence at this point.

WEST

The Royal Courts of Justice are in the West End of the street.

NORTH

There's no bigger book of words than a dictionary. Such as the Dictionary of English Language penned by Samuel Johnson, whose house is a couple streets north of Fleet Street.

SOUTH

I actually have no clue about this, but it might have something to do with the Temple Church right below Fleet Street. Maybe because a king of France decided to kill the Templars. Although I guess that would have left a bad taste in the Templars... I dunno, but I'm so sure of the other three that I will edit this when I find out what I'm missing.

Or, as M Oehm so cleverly indicates, it might have to do with the fact that the Waterloo district is right across the Thames south of Fleet Street. And of course it was in the Battle of Waterloo where Napoleon was finally defeated by the Seventh Coalition. Since France and England are mortal enemies, it probably leaves a bad taste in French people's mouths when they're reminded of any occasion where England has prevailed over them.

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    $\begingroup$ Very good! I think the bad taste was put into French mouths by way of a decisive battle, which has given the name to a district to the south. $\endgroup$
    – M Oehm
    Commented Oct 19, 2018 at 16:38
  • $\begingroup$ Oooh, good one, I'll edit it in and credit you :) $\endgroup$
    – NudgeNudge
    Commented Oct 19, 2018 at 16:40
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    $\begingroup$ <nitpickery type="etymological" class="inconsequential">That particular place was named after a river though, and the river's name was derived from an old word meaning "tidal inlet". No harbours or their likely contents involved in the process .</nitpickery> Also, great job on finding all the other places, I spent half an hour on the map of that particular place without success :-) $\endgroup$
    – Bass
    Commented Oct 20, 2018 at 11:33
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    $\begingroup$ @Bass That's interesting. Hadn't even crossed my mind that the name's origin could be unrelated to the word's common meaning... $\endgroup$
    – Jafe
    Commented Oct 20, 2018 at 12:05

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