About this blog...

sans objet (S.O.): the French equivalent of n/a, not available (or applicable). ''Sans'' comes from a combination of the Latin words sine and absenti, which mean ''without'' and ''in the absence of'' respectively. ''Objet'' also comes from Latin ''Objectum'' meaning something thrown down or presented. That being said, I chose this blog title when I didn't know what kind of posts I would be throwing down. Now that I have written a few entries, I would say that reading my blog means joining me on an etymological adventure that starts in France (where I am currently residing) and ends with me googling definitions and translations and then rambling about it.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Unpacking my adjectives

I just returned from a week in Scotland. I am happy to be back in France, going through Irn Bru withdrawal and recovering from severe fish-and-chips (and mushy peas) induced indigestion.

While I was over in Scotland, I identified a few terms that have been confusing me:

Britain, Great Britain, the UK, British.

Britain is England and Wales.
Great Britain is that land mass that contains England, Scotland and Wales.
The UK is the clump of those three countries PLUS Northern Ireland.
For the definition of British, I have:

''of or pertaining to Great Britain or its inhabitants''.

Meaning that Scottish things could be British. Like fish and chips maybe. But not haggis  (which was alright by the way, not too exciting, it just tastes kind of peppery).

All in all, I had quite a few experiences in Scotland: I read chick lit on the shores of Lock Ness, I did a workshop in wire-strung clarsach at the Edinburgh International harp festival, I bought a ''jumper'' (what we would call a sweater) in a charity shop, I rode at the top of double decker buses, I ate food that I had heard mentioned on Coronation Street (sausage roll, eccles cake), I got mild shin splints...

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