Atonement. Ian McEwan. Words
Finished the book, from part 3 onwards I tended to skim-read and may have missed some juicey words. Below are some explanations of words that struck me as having culturally specific or slightly obscure meanings:
- Card (194): an odd or amusing person (OED)
- Crumpet (p181): Oxford English Dictionary’s 2nd definition, Women regarded as objects of sexual desire.
- Gladestone Bag (p163): Named after the Welshman William E Gladstone who was Queen Victoria’s UK Prime Minister on four occassions. The bag has a wire-hinged frame to open it and is much like a classic ‘Carpet bag’ only normally made of leather.
- Greatcoat (p179): a long heavy warm coat, worn especially by soldiers over their uniform. The design in the UK is slightly different from the US greatcoats. Ha Ha (p17): A dry ditch or sunken fence which divided the formal garden from the landscaped park without interrupting the view. I’ve mainly seen them as boundaries between mansion houses and the surrounding fields used for agriculture. Like a mini ‘moat’ with no water and a steep-side (wall) on the side where the animals should not climb-up. An example picture is available at the bottom of this page: http://hcs.osu.edu/ukstudy2002/calendar/levens1.htm
- Humber (p162): a classic UK car. See company history and examples on: http://www.rootes-chrysler.co.uk/humberf.htm
- King Canute (p107): A potential anagram of ‘the word’ refered to in the book as an ”Old English King attempting to turn back the tides“. He’s an early Christian King of Danish origins. The story is told to children in the UK as a means of conveying the dangers of pride (one of the seven sins) and unquestioning acceptance of praise. The story crops up in Christian contexts, Canute was made a Saint. The Wikipedia entry makes him sound like the King of a Scandinavian Empire that included England: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canute_the_Great
- Kissing Gate (p17): A small gate swinging in a U or V-shaped enclosure, which allows only one person to pass through at a time. Older versions sometimes use gravity to close and has a passage way that is too slim for an animal to move through. Why a ‘kissing gate’? The myth is that a man out walking with his lady friend can pass through first and hold the gate shut – demanding a kiss before permitting his lady friend to pass through. Example gate diagram on: http://www.accesscode.info/external/5_25a.htm
- Metaled road (p86): To make or mend (a road) with small, broken stones. The broken stone used in macadamizing roads and ballasting railroads http://en.thinkexist.com/dictionary/meaning/Metal/
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