Sri Lankan English - Updates H

This page contains updates to the dictionary beginning with the letter H. It is divided into 2 parts: New Entries, and Comments and Corrections. Click here to return to the main updates page, or on the links on the left side of the page to go to another letter.

These pages are updated regularly; please contact me if you have any suggestions or feedback which can be included.

Latest update: December 2011. New additions are in red.

NEW ENTRIES:

hadu: (coll.) (of clothes) old, worn, comfortable (Sinhala)
wearing her usual hadu clothes

half: (in numbers) a half
Dylan had legs that grew hair that was approximately one and half inches long. (Learning to Fly, by Shehani Gomes, page 24)
Three and half years later at the grand ceremony that had become custom in Sri Lankan society, Nirmaleen would wear a pink-gray sari. (Learning to Fly, by Shehani Gomes, page 85)

hammer (2): (coll.) drink (a lot), booze, get drunk
We were hammering away at the wedding.
They were hammering and hammering at the party.

har’ par’ six fellow: (coll.) a useless person
His thoughts drifted to the past, and the words “You’re just a har’ par’ six fellow” resounded in his head. A har’ par’ six fellow. That was what she had called him before destroying his relationship with her sister Daphne. The phrase “har’ par’ six fellow” was an insult used by her family to describe a worthless person. It was always uttered in a tone heavy with contempt. It came from the image of a clock at half past six, when both hands point down to give a limp appearance. (The Mirror of Paradise, by Asgar Hussein, page 22)

hate: I hate: (coll.) I hate it (> like, doubt, prefer)
I hated when Leandro washed and hung his multicoloured lankets. (Sam’s Story, by Elmo Jayawardena, page 12)
“I hate when she doesn’t listen to me completely.” (The Moon in the Water, by Ameena Hussein, page 146)
Mythil hated when she called him ‘Podi Baby’ – little master. (Mythil’s Secret, by Prashani Rambukwella, page 8)

heli: helicopter
State owned Sri Lanka Air Force too offers heli services. (Sunday Leader 26/09/11)

hell of a thing!: (coll.) (expression of surprise)

here and there: from place to place
In BSE, ‘here and there’ means ‘in various places’ (‘cushions scattered here and there on the floor’); in SLE it can also be used in the sense of moving from place to place.
… Father Anton was dog-tired after running here and there the whole day. (Distant Warriors, by Channa Wickremesekera, page 47)
I walked here and there, with Sarath tracking my movements like a dog following its master. (Can You Hear me Running, by Lal Medawattegedara, page 16)

Hikka: (coll.) Hikkaduwa

hill capital: Kandy
Cricket matches with All Saints’ College, Kandy, had often made journeys between Colombo and the hill capital necessary in Chris’s schooldays, … (The Sweet and Simple Kind, by Yasmine Gooneratne, page 252)

homecoming sari: the sari worn by the bride for the homecoming ceremony
… the engagement, the selection of the bride’s homecoming sari, … (Serendipity, by Ashok Ferrey, page 67)

Hony.: (abbr.) Honorary (Hon.)
Hony. Treasurer, Hony. Consul, Hony. Secy. (= Honorary Secretary)

hopper mixture: the rice flour batter used to make hoppers
A huge container of hopper mixture sat next to them. (July, by Karen Roberts, page 210)
The young man making the hoppers tapped an egg on the rim of the iron pan and tilted it into the soft hopper mixture. (All is Burning, by Jean Arasanayagam, page 362)

hopper pan (= aappa thaachchiya): a small bowl-shaped pan used for making hoppers
With it, she bought string-hopper moulds, cane watti, and hopper pans … (The Banana Tree Crisis, by Isankya Kodithuwakku, page 156)

housecoat: an informal garment worn by women around the house (less common in BSE)
Housewives in shapeless housecoats water their plants … (The Moon in the Water, by Ameena Hussein, page 34)
A woman in a printed blue housecoat opens the door. (Arathi, by Nihal de Silva, page 283)
She put her housecoat on and padded down the stairs. (Homesick, by Roshi Fernando, page 171)

human-elephant conflict: the problems associated with the destruction of human property by elephants, and the destruction of elephant habitats by humans (also India, Africa, etc.)
> Although not unique to Sri Lanka, this term is in everyday use in SLE (for example in newspaper reports), whereas in BSE it is restricted to the context of wildlife conservation.



COMMENTS AND CORRECTIONS:

homecoming: traditionally held in the bridegroom’s house, but now commonly held in a hotel or wedding hall

house full: fully booked, sold out (but not ‘houseful’ which is also included in the dictionary)



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