Eye - 25 May 2012

Frivolities from Friends

Friends turning phrases

The ‘Alternative Quaker Dictionary’ from Paul Honigmann (11 May) certainly sparked some Quakerly synapses! David Boulton, from Brigflatts Meeting, offered the following tidbits to Eye:

• Theist: Tea drinker
• Nontheist: Teatotaller
• Pantheist: Tea drinker who can’t find the kettle
• Polytheist: Consumer of many brands of tea
• Eco-theist: Enthusiast for green tea
• Atheist: Coffee drinker

Paul was also struck by more inspiration, sending the following ‘frivolities’ to tickle Eye’s funny bone:

• Conservative Friends: A species of birds flourishing in rural England but almost extinct in Scotland. As their right wings are stronger than the left, they tend to fly in circles, known to ornithologists as ‘u-turns’.
• Meeting for Sufferings: A Quaker club for sado-masochists.
• Penn Club: The society of Quaker authors.
• Quaker Life: The biography section of the Friends’ House library.
• Recording Clerk: A member of the Friends House staff charged with producing CDs for Young Friends’ pop groups and older Friends’ folk ensembles. [Ed: I think he’d appreciate this one.]
• Rowntrees Chocolate: A form of confectionery made not from the cocoa bean but from the berries of the mountain ash (not to be confused with ‘cad berries’).
• Six Weeks’ Meeting: The Quaker form of Lent, held annually from Ash Wednesday to Good Friday.
• The Mount: A hobby horse, frequently exercised in the letters page of the Friend.
• Woodbrooke: A forest stream.

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Comments

Thank you so much for these.

By Caddi on 24th May 2012 - 18:55

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