 A part of the forthcoming book, The Septic's Companion. A B C D EF G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z   These are the last three beers people kinder than you bought me. Click on them to see more or buy me one. Feel guilty? Think of the children I might have, and such like. |
Ecosse n what the French call Scotland. It’s in here only because The Sunday Times newspaper uses the word as a section title. The word is also known reasonably widely around the U.K. — the only Scottish motor-racing team anyone’s ever heard of was called “Ecurie Ecosse.” Also means some other thing in French but I have no idea what. eejit n idiot. I can only guess that it is derived from something like a phonetic representation of an Irish person saying exactly that. Elastoplast n adhesive bandage, i.e. Band-Aid. Antiquated term –“Plaster” is used more commonly in modern British English. elevenses n mid-morning snack. Rather old-fashioned; clearly derived somehow from eleven o’clock. engaged adj busy, as in a telephone line. Many sit-coms have sustained plot lines built around the truly hilarious “engaged in a phone call/engaged to be married” mix-up. enplane v get onto an aeroplane. As out of use as its sister word, “deplane.” entrée n appetizer. Only in America does this not mean “appetizer.” Why, in America, a word that clearly means “enter” or “start” means “main course” is beyond me. Perhaps it’s because American appetizers are about the size of everyone else’s main courses. estate agent n real estate agent, realtor — the person who carefully listens to all your whims and fancies about the sort of home you’d like, and then takes you to see one that doesn’t fulfill any of those criteria but they’re having trouble selling. estate car n station wagon.