Anglophile Reviews: The Septic’s Companion

The Septic’s Companion by Chris Rae is a brilliant little book. The first third of the book is about British culture and answers some pretty interesting questions that the average Anglophile probably has about Britain. The rest of the book is dictionary of British Terms and they’re meanings.

It’s great reference for Anglophiles, especially if they watch a lot of British TV. It has a lot of obscure meanings to seemingly normal sounding words.

Chris is a British Expat living in the USA. His book comes from a web project called English To American which aimed to demystify the nuances between American English and well English English.

Some examples from the Dictionary:

• chuffed – generally happy with life.
• cider – Alcoholic Apple Juice.
• pants – underpants – What Americans call pants Brits call Trousers.
• tarmac – blacktop
• anorak – someone who is a little too knowledgeable about a particular subject

Generally the definitions are matter of fact, but they are also sprinkled with a particularly British humor that is always good for a laugh.

The author inscribed the book to me and implored me to look up my name in the dictionary. It turns out, a variation of my name, John Thomas, is another term for the male genitalia. I chuckled when I read that.

So, in honor of the books content and the apparent real meaning of my name, I recommend this book as great bathroom reading. Perfect for the library next to the toilet.

I give it 5 out of 5 Union Jacks for interesting factoids sprinkled with sensible dry British wit.

You can buy The Septic’s Companion on Amazon.com