Picture Dictionary: Sublime Porte

Sublime Porte [səˈblʌɪm pɔːt]

noun

From the French 'Sublime Porte', translation of the Turkish Bab-i-Ali, 'grand door'.  Refers to the ceremonial gate to the palace of the Grand Vizier in Istanbul; also used to refer to the government/seat of government of the Ottoman Empire.Eithne's favourite example of metonymy (qv).

Metonymy [məˈtänəmē]
noun
Metaphorical device where one object is substituted for another, related object.  Cf 'crown' for monarch, 'bench' for judiciary.


The Sublime Porte.  Where did my obsession come from?  I think it's probably related to the fact that I explored the delights of metonymy (and its close relation, synecdoche) in my first term at university, around the same time I was writing essays about competing Imperial interests in the run up to WWI.  The Sublime Porte seemed to me a glorious shorthand for the Ottoman Empire, much more exotic and interesting than the Court of St James, say.  (Or the more prosaic 'Berlin', 'Washington' and 'Brussels' we get today.)

So I was determined to track down the original, actual gate from which the term derived.  Easier said than done.  The gate now leads to the provincial governor's HQ and is not particularly on the Istanbul tourist trail - though it is in the Sultanahmet district, along with the Topkapi Palace.  In fact, we discovered the gate through sheer serendipity.  We were walking along Ankara Caddesi looking for a restaurant and I looked up - and recognised the distinctive canopy over the gate.

I went back to see it the next day: to the passers by, the trucks and cars and taxis, it's clearly just another gate in a city that's chockablock full of interesting sites.

But I know (and it knows) that it is the very definition of a Sublime Porte.  

Picture Dictionary: Crème Anglaise

Crème an·glaise

 [ Fr.krem ahn-glez]

Custard; vehicle for iles flottantes; manna from heaven.

This is my nephew, Alex.  Last Saturday, he discovered Crème Anglaise.  I gave him a spoonful of mine (I ordered the ile flottante and it came on a LAKE of custard).  He tried it,

gave me a beatific smile,

and came back for more.

Between blissed-out smiles he would look at me (or perhaps the custard?) adoringly as if to say, 'I don't care who you are, but if you're handing out this stuff, I think I love you.'

Picture Dictionary: Clic-Clac (Oh My Aching Back!)

(Image via http://media.comprendrechoisir.com)

Clic-clac [klik-klak]
Noun (French)

Sofa-bed.

Thanks to the lovely Mrs W, I recently rewatched To Catch a Thief and determined that, like Grace Kelly, (though without her wardrobe), I should like to summer in France this year.

Luckily this fits in nicely with the plans of several of my nearest and dearest (to include one new French bébé in July) and is the reason my sister just sent me an email about the house she has rented for us.  The email was in French and I understood everything except the word 'clic-clac'.  So I looked it up.  How French.  How onomatopoeic.  How hilarious.  Hilarious?  Pourquoi?

LTLS and I share a love of the Andrews Sisters and Lílí's favourite song is 'South America, Take It Away' ...  in which Bing Crosby and the girls bemoan the fact that 'there's a strange click clack in the back of my sacroiliac.'  

How funny if the clic-clacs should give us pains in our sacroiliacs.  Well, not funny, exactly, in the sense of being fun; but droll, nonetheless.

Picture Dictionary: Icy Pole

Icy Pole [ahy-see pohl]

-noun

A frozen, usually sweet, confection on a stick; sometimes ice cream based.  See: ice pop, ice lolly.

I am not making this up - you can visit the website www.goldengaytime.com.au

In the interests of research I've had one (well, you'd have to, wouldn't you?) and it's pretty good: vanilla ice cream inside toffee icecream, with a chocolate coating and biscuit sprinkles.

Picture Dictionary: Smallgoods

What springs to mind when you hear the word ‘smallgoods’? I saw it on a sign as I walked down the street yesterday and I ran through a few possibilities in my head. Underwear? Kitchen equipment? Haberdashery? But no. This is what smallgoods is (are?):

(image via www.postcards-sa.com.au)

smallgoods [smɔl/gʊdz]

Noun pl

(Australia and New Zealand)

1. Processed meat products e.g. sausage, salami, paté

2. Shop that sells same

Picture Dictionary: Manchester

I had the tv on as background noise last week. There were lots of ads for the Winter Sales, including one that threw me: 50% off everything in our Manchester Department!

???

I must have misheard.

But no, another ad, another offer on All Manchester.

I imagined this Manchester, for sale:

But it turns out that Manchester, in Australia, has its own particular meaning.

manchester [mæntʃɪstə]

noun

1. household linen or cotton goods, such as sheets and towels

2. Also called: manchester department a section of a store where such goods are sold

Manchester departments sell doonas. A doona is what Aussies call a quilt or a duvet. So, now, if you ever hear someone say, ‘I’m off to the manchester department to buy a doona!’ (probably intending to throw a shrimp on the barbie immediately afterwards) you’ll know what they mean.

Picture Dictionary: Flat White

Prompted by rattdl’s innocent question last week (she wanted to know what budgie smugglers are) I’m reintroducing the picture dictionary feature I started in South Africa.

Today’s phrase is one with which some readers may already be familiar since I think it’s slowly infiltrating coffee shops in Ireland and Britain.

Flat white [flæt waɪt]

Noun

Espresso-based drink served with hot milk. Similar to cappuccino but with less foam and no chocolate. Cf Café au lait. Often seen on lists that include ‘long black’, ‘short black’ etc. HTLT's favourite.

Picture Dictionary: Boerewors Curtain

It’s our continuing series on South African words and phrases and oh, my pretties, I have a great one for you today!

[Picture copyright Biltongmakers.com]

Boerewors Curtain [ˈbʊərəˌvɔs kûrtn]

-noun

Line dividing largely Afrikaans areas of Cape Town from other suburbs cf Iron Curtain. From boerewors, spiced sausage traditionally beloved of Afrikaans-speaking community in South Africa. Example of usage: He lives in Durbanville, behind the boerewors curtain.

Picture Dictionary: Robots

Robots [roh-botz]

-noun

Lights to control flow of traffic cf traffic lights. Example of usage highly confusing to visitors: these robots are kak, man. (J. Winfield, 2009)

Picture Dictionary: Tackies

In the words of Henry Higgins, “One common language I'm afraid we'll never get.” Though unlike Henry, I’m not really bothered by this. I like the fact that English spoken in Ireland is different from English spoken in the US, in England and, as I’m learning now, in South Africa. I’ve been collecting choice words and phrases to share with you in a new feature – the picture dictionary.

We’ll start off with an easy one.

Tackies [tak-eez]

-noun

Footwear worn for sport and leisure; known in other countries as runners (Ireland), trainers (Great Britain), sneakers (USA).