Sri Lankan English

This page contains updates to the dictionary beginning with the letter T. 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: July 2010. New additions are in red.

NEW ENTRIES:

tak tik tuk: noughts and crosses (UK); tick tack toe (US)
… Scholaris was playing tik tak tuk with Seela; … (Theravada Man, by Manuka Wijesinghe, page 297)

talipot palm: a large variety of palm tree famous for its huge fan-shaped leaves (ola leaves) used in ancient manuscripts
The talipot blooms towards the very end of its life, and in its last year produces beautiful flowers followed by clusters of round, hard seeds. The stunning bloom of the talipot palm is one of the natural world's most unforgettable sights. (travelsrilanka magazine)

tea garden: tea estate, tea plantation, tea field
… hills covered with tea gardens in the distance. (All is Burning, by Jean Arasanayagam, page 92)
Magnificent tea gardens spread out on either side of the road following the contours of the hill, … (The Far Spent Day, by Nihal de Silva, page 133)

tea planter: the owner or manager of a tea estate (also India)
… the convent-educated eldest daughter of a prosperous Indian Tamil tea planter. (The Sweet and Simple Kind, by Yasmine Gooneratne, page 23)

telephone shower: hand-held bathroom shower

three-wheeler driver: the driver of a three-wheeler taxi
The three-wheeler drivers were compelled to memorize the potholes in order to keep their balance. (Can You Hear me Running, by Lal Medawattegedara, page 49)
His father had been a three-wheel driver … (Rainbows in Braille, by Elmo Jayawardena, page 112)
“Will you tell the three-wheeler driver we’ll be needing his services?” (Serendipity, by Ashok Ferrey, page 149)

thundering slap: (dated) a hard slap
“I got up, went across to where my ‘son’ was standing, looking as if butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth, grabbed him by the ear and fetched him a thundering slap on the side of his head.” (The Sweet and Simple Kind, by Yasmine Gooneratne, page 256)
> I am grateful to Yasmine Gooneratne for pointing out this omission from the dictionary!

tooth relic: the venerated Buddhist relic kept at the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy
When I was a child, at Perahera time – the annual pageant where homage is paid to the sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha … (All is Burning, by Jean Arasanayagam, page 279)
He’s a Sinhala Buddhist, I later am told by a devotee of the sacred tooth relic. (Their Autopsy, by Vihanga Perera, page 142)
“Monumental statues of the great Tathagatha carved in rock, or glorious stupas reaching up to the blue sky, or even the precious tooth relic, are not the Buddha dharma.” (Theravada Man, by Manuka Wijesinghe, page 137)

trained teacher: a teacher who has gone through teacher training college, but who does not have a degree (> graduate teacher)
She was a trained English teacher herself, but one of a large family of girls. (All is Burning, by Jean Arasanayagam, page 126)

treacle (= honey, pani): a sweet liquid made from the sap of the kitul flower (kitul pani) or the coconut flower (pol pani) and commonly served with curd (BSE ‘treacle’ is made from sugar)
curd and treacle

tri-services: army, navy and air force
tri-service chiefs
personnel from the tri-services and police

T-shirt: a casual short-sleeved shirt, with or without a collar (always without a collar in BSE)

tuition class: private class
She never returned home before eight at night because of the extra tuition classes she attended after school. (The Banana Tree Crisis, by Isankya Kodithuwakku, page 109)
Was school over so late these days? It must be the wretched tuition classes they had to attend. (The Mango Tree, by Anthea Senaratna, page 24)
… we were all enrolled in Mrs. Salgado’s famous tuition class, … (Stable Horses, by Vihanga Perera, page 80)

COMMENTS AND CORRECTIONS:

take a decision: make a decision
This entry requires clarification. I am grateful to Anura Edirimanne for pointing out that both make a decision and take a decision are commonly used in BSE. But it is probably true that make a decision is more frequent in BSE, while take a decision is more frequent in SLE.

teapoy: originally a 3-legged table, but can refer to any small low table, usually with 4 legs

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