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: December 2011. 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 kiosk (= tea boutique, thee kade)
I knew the kadé - the tea kiosk at the top of the road, … (Reef, by Romesh Gunesekera, page 39)
There was a tea kiosk and a banana shop, thereafter a couple of stalls selling vegetables. (The Road from Elephant Pass, by Nihal de Silva, page 75)
He passed the motor garage and the grocery stores, and the tea-kiosks where weary labourers gathered for a cup of tea and a chat. (The Mirror of Paradise, by Asgar Hussein, page 82)

tea planter: the owner or manager of a tea estate (also India)
This was his first shot at being a tea planter. (The Flower Boy, by Karen Roberts, page 13)
… 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

thada: (coll.) close, friendly, thick (with somebody) (Sinhala)
“I am not thada with them. Barely on hi-bye terms actually.” (The Moon in the Water, by Ameena Hussein, page 72)

that one: (coll.) he/she, that person, what’s-his-name, you-know-who (> this one)
You should have seen what that one was wearing!
“I went to this place
That one was there
He’d brought his this thing
For our one to share.”
(Poem by Barabara Sansoni, in Press with the Toes in the Grass, page 88)

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)
“Will you tell the three-wheeler driver we’ll be needing his services?” (Serendipity, by Ashok Ferrey, page 149)
Thaththi kept his eyes on the road sounding the horn impatiently as a three-wheeler driver cut in front of them without signalling. (Mythil’s Secret, by Prashani Rambukwella, page 39)

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)

thuththiri: burrs, seeds which stick to your clothes (Sinhala)
Now the passage was narrower, overgrown with thuththiri weeds and thampala plants which made skin itch if you rubbed against them. (The Flower Boy, by Karen Roberts, page 6)
Full of thuththiri they climbed into the cart and began the journey home. (Theravada Man, by Manuka Wijesinghe, page 272)

to: into
Don't forget to put petrol to the car.
“And then I’ll slice him up like a fish and throw his parts to the sea.” (The Mirror of Paradise, by Asgar Hussein, page 48)

tommy rot: (coll.) nonsense, rubbish (dated in BSE)
After Harmil maini left I told them that what she had said was tommy rot. (The Moon in the Water, by Ameena Hussein, page 119)

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 remembered the time a friend in her tuition class brought her here after a class, one evening. (Shrapnel, by Neil Fernandopulle, page 63)
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)
… the children who came home for her tuition classes. (Mythil’s Secret, by Prashani Rambukwella, page 59)

tuk-tuk (= trishaw, three-wheeler, auto): (coll.) a small three-wheel taxi
Holding on to the tuk-tuk as it weaved its way acrobatically through the traffic … (The Moon in the Water, by Ameena Hussein, page 53)
The tuk-tuk stopped outside The Gallery Cafe, … (Serendipity, by Ashok Ferrey, page 123)

COMMENTS AND CORRECTIONS:

take a decision: make a decision (less common in BSE)

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

thammattama (not tammattama): a traditional drum (Sinhala)

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