Sri Lankan English

This page contains updates to the dictionary beginning with the letter C. 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.

NEW ENTRIES:

C: (at Sri Lankan O level exam) credit (equivalent of B grade) (> D,S)
... however i got a C in sinhala at my O'levels dont know how… (comment on forum.autolanka.com 17/10/11)

caddish: obscene
On being questioned about his caddish behaviour, the trader had replied that he was forced to urinate in public as he was a severe diabetic. (Daily Mirror 23/06/16)
An army soldier, who exhibited his person to a 13-year-old schoolgirl … was arrested by the Eppawala Police on Thursday. … The parents took her to the Eppawala Police Station and lodged a complaint about the soldier’s caddish behavior. (Daily Mirror 14/10/17)

Calicut tiles: flat roof tiles (Calicut is the former name of Kozhikode in Kerala, South India) (> Ceylon tiles, Sinhala ulu)
Before the Tsunami they had lived in a cement-walled, Calicut-tile-roofed house with a living room, two bedrooms, … (The Banana Tree Crisis, by Isankya Kodithuwakku, page 130)
The roof timber needs to be replaced as well as the Calicut tiles, which have a life span of a hundred years. (Sunday Times 24/01/99)
Copra was the main export product from all the large coconut estates, copra was taken chiefly to South India, and in return Calicut tiles were the main products brought back. (Daily News 29/08/05)
The roof uses Calicut tiles to allow hot air to rise and circulate to bring in cool air; … (Sunday Times 13/07/14)

cane chair: a chair made of cane
They sit on the cane chairs by the window. (Chinaman, by Shehan Karunatilaka, page 60)
There, he sat down on the cane chair and began reading … (The Mirror of Paradise, by Asgar Hussein, page 45)
Kiran slumped into a ratty cane chair in the corner … (Strange Fruit, by Afdhel Aziz, page 194)
Uncle sits on a cane chair, thin legs crossed, … (The Fear of Gambling, by Vihanga Perera, page 185)

carrom ball: (in cricket) a spin-bowling delivery (SAE)
It pitches wide off leg, like a misplaced carrom ball, cuts onto off stump, then darts back into the stumps. (Chinaman, by Shehan Karunatilaka, page 251)
Sri Lankan bowler, Ajantha Mendis may have been mesmerising the Australian batsmen in the current series with his Carrom Ball delivery, but the so called delivery is not this bowler's monopoly, claims former Pakistan wicketkeeper, Rashid Latif. …
The ball is held between the thumb, forefinger and the middle finger and, instead of a conventional release, the ball is squeezed out and flicked by the fingers like a Carrom player flicking the disc on a Carrom board. (Daily Mirror 13/08/11)
Australia spinner Nathan Lyon is coy about the new delivery he has been refining with Muttiah Muralitharan and hopes to unleash on Pakistan in October’s test series, describing it only as an “Australian” carrom ball. …
Local media have speculated that Murali’s appointment would include teaching Lyon how to bowl the carrom, a ball that also turns the other way but with spin imparted by the flicking of the middle finger rather than the wristy action of the doosra. (Daily Mirror 20/06/14)

carrom board: a square board used for playing carrom
Jonny watches me powder his varnished carrom board. (Chinaman, by Shehan Karunatilaka, page 243)
There you will find a cute little outdoor space with tables, chairs and a carrom board. (Playing Pillow Politics at MGK, by Lal Medawattegedara, page 86)
The defending champions Sri Lanka will look to continue their dominance on the carrom board. (Nation 28/10/12)

carromite (= slicer): carrom player
Over one hundred carromites from sixteen countries will slice their way at the 4th world carrom championships hosted by the carrom federation of Sri Lanka to be staged in Colombo from October 5 to 9. (Sunday Observer 29/08/04)
Sri Lankan carromite Chamil Cooray came up with a superlative performance in the singles to beat world champion from India Yogesh Pardesi. (Daily Mirror 18/07/12)

carrom men (= dogs): carrom pieces
Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage is preparing carrom men at the inauguration of the 6th World Carrom Championship at Galadari Hotel in Colombo yesterday … (Island 31/10/12)

carry tales: tell tales, spread rumours (SAE) (> tale-carrier, tale-carrying)
“For a while now I have sensed that some fellow is carrying tales about me to the boss.” (No Return, by Rajitha Dissanayake, translated by Hasini Haputhanthri and Gihan de Chickera, page 54)
… a handmaiden of the queen … begins to carry tales to the king about her mistress’s wayward habits. (The Ceaseless Chatter of Demons, by Ashok Ferrey, page 242)

car wash: a fund-raising event where a group of people stop cars on the side of the road and offer to wash them
(Click here to see a photograph)
A car wash organised by the students of ICBT City Campus will be held on December 15 between 8.30am to 5.30pm at Havelock Town, Colombo 05. The car wash is held to raise funds to provide basic requirements for children who are at the Prithipura Communities Infants Disabled Home at Hendala, Wattala. (Daily News 01/12/12)

cash plucking: plucking tea outside working hours for extra pay
A cash plucking system, task work system and double name per day system achieve targets. (Sunday Observer 24/07/11)

cast: to cast a horoscope: to draw up a person’s horoscope
She had had him cast horoscopes for all the children – “Did he cast one for you, too?” … “I said very firmly that I didn’t want one cast for me, …” (The Sweet and Simple Kind, by Yasmine Gooneratne, page 507)
He had horoscopes to cast, a family to feed and a wife to satisfy. (Theravada Man, by Manuka Wijesinghe, page 68)
“You did not permit me to let him cast the children’s horoscopes.” (Theravada Man, by Manuka Wijesinghe, page 317)
Before she left for England she’d heard that Renu’s horoscope was being recast. (A Little Dust on the Eyes, by Minoli Salgado, page 91)

caste: a traditional South Asian system of social hierarchy historically associated with particular occupations (SAE) (> Ahikuntika, berava, durava, govigama, karaiyar, karava, nalavar, paraiyar, radala, Rodi, salagama, vellala)
In 19th-century Sri Lanka, the most prestigious caste among the Sinhalese – the goyigama – was not only the largest caste group, but also formed a majority of the low-country Sinhala population. … Four castes of the Low-country (goyigama, karava, salagama and durava) had a combined total of 83.1% of this population, and seven castes accounted for 93% of the low-country population. … While in Sinhala society caste hierarchies were becoming fluid, the Jaffna Tamil caste system remained more rigid and very hierarchical. … Jaffna society was dominated by the vellala caste, which, like the Sinhala goyigama, formed half the population. … Like the Sinhala caste system, the Jaffna Tamil system had an ‘inverted pyramidal structure’ with the vellalas dominating. (Nobodies to Somebodies, by Kumari Jayawardena, page 164-5)
The five service castes who toil at the lowest level – Pallar, Nalavar (Toddy Tappers), Paraiar, Vannar (washermen) and Ambattar (Barbers) – are known as the Panjamar. (Palmyra Fallen, by Rajan Hoole, page 376)

casual leave: a single day’s holiday from work, not necessarily pre-arranged, as opposed to annual leave, which is normally taken in a single block planned in advance (SAE) (> lieu leave, short leave)
“I’ve used up my annual leave, my sick leave, my casual leave.” (Serendipity, by Ashok Ferrey, page 159)

cat: (v) (coll.) vomit, throw up
All those smells, the blaring radio, the jerking motion. I nearly catted … (The Moon in the Water, by Ameena Hussein, page 74)

cattish (= vomitish): (coll.) feeling sick, nauseous
Even though she felt ‘cattish’ yet she did not want to throw up as she feared it might smell awful. (sangam.org 19/01/05)

CBK: (former President) Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga
Maithri, Ranil, CBK In Special Discussion (Sunday Leader 31/07/16)
CBK calls for a federal semi-secular constitution (Daily Mirror 15/09/16)

cent: one hundredth of a Sri Lankan rupee
> The Indian rupee is divided into 100 paise.
A round trip in the old days cost only a few cents. (Facets of Wewala, by Seneka Abeyratne, page 22)

Ceylonese: (dated) Sri Lankan
The Good Little Ceylonese Girl by Ashok Ferrey
They were Dutch burghers, the products of various intermarriages between the Ceylonese and the Dutch invaders, … (July, by Karen Roberts, page 12)
The tale didn’t go down quite so well with the locals: most of Rowland’s Ceylonese listeners smiled to themselves, and discreetly refrained from comment. (The Sweet and Simple Kind, by Yasmine Gooneratne, page 25)
Bohemianism was a way of life which was accepted easily among that class of westernized Ceylonese. (A Nice Burgher Girl, by Jean Arasanayagam, page 368)
In fact, she would have been perfectly happy to forget the Ceylonese part of her heritage altogether … (The Lament of the Dhobi Woman, by Karen Roberts, page 35)
They are larger, more diverse and more excitable than us Ceylonese, ... (Chinaman, by Shehan Karunatilaka, page 320)
“He is the most erudite scholar of Ceylonese history.” (Sinhala Only, by Manuka Wijesinghe, page 25)

Ceylon Tamil (= Sri Lankan Tamil): (dated) a member of the Tamil community originally from the Northern and Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka, as opposed to the upcountry Tamil community
The pursuit of communal politics, the 50-50 demand, followed by the abject capitulation of most of the Ceylon Tamil leadership in selling out the upcountry Tamils in return for ministerial positions and the assurance that Ceylon Tamils will not be touched – all helped to create a stereotype image of the Ceylon Tamil as an unprincipled person who can be bought over by promises of transient material security. (The Broken Palmyrah, by Rajan Hoole et al, page 12)
… Sinhala chauvinists who had claimed that ‘parity of language’ simply means that 68 lakhs of Sinhalese must learn the language of 6 lakhs of Ceylon Tamils for jobs; … (Sinhala Only, by Manuka Wijesinghe, page 480)
By this time an increasing number of Ceylon Tamils too were fleeing to India by sea. (Palmyra Fallen, by Rajan Hoole, page 25)
Besides, most up-country Tamils had not forgotten how shabbily their people had been treated in the past by ‘Ceylon Tamil’ community leaders, and how the TULF had excluded them from the proposed Tamil Eelam. (Ceylon Tea: The Trade that Made a Nation, by Richard Simon, page 228)

Ceylon tea: Sri Lankan tea (brand name still in use)
The success of these auctions has been a key factor in the emergence of Ceylon tea as an internationally recognized meta-brand like French wine, Scotch whisky or Swiss chocolate. (Ceylon Tea: The Trade that Made a Nation, by Richard Simon, page 61)
As the name of Ceylon slowly faded from the collective consciousness, the association of ‘Ceylon’ tea with the island of Sri Lanka grew increasingly obscure. (Ceylon Tea: The Trade that Made a Nation, by Richard Simon, page 242-3)

Ceylon tiles (= Sinhala ulu): traditional rounded roof tiles (> Calicut tiles)
It had been smudged by a drop of water that had fallen from the Ceylon tile roof. (Sinhala Only, by Manuka Wijesinghe, page 427)

chakgudu (= gudu): a traditional game played with sticks (Sinhala)
The games of the Avurudu season are some of the most enjoyable to both the young and the not-so-young and at Keells resort hotels, all guests will get the opportunity to take part in the fun! Pillow fighting, tug o’ war, chakgudu and kana mutti are just some of the games planned for the new year weekend, along with the ever-popular ‘Avurudu Kumari’ pageant that is sure to be a highlight of the celebrations. (Sunday Times 05/04/09)

chank (shell): conch shell (Tubinella pyrum) (from Sanskrit shankha)
Sources of revenue also included cinnamon rejected by the East India Company and sold to other merchants, chank shells, chaya roots (for dyes), … (Nobodies to Somebodies, by Kumari Jayawardena, page 8)
… perforated chank shells, a jumble of tortoieseshell and silver hair combs: … (The Hamilton Case, by Michelle de Kretser, page 16)
… elephants, ivory tusks, gems, spices, chank, dyes, … (A Nice Burgher Girl, by Jean Arasanayagam, page 443)

Sad predicament of the chank shells
The large-scale collection of chanks for the export trade has been going on in the coastal seas of the Hambantota District since 1997. Although only the shell is used as an export item, it has been a threat to the species due to the collection of live shells. These large shells, shaped like a flower-bud, are known in Sinhala as Hak-Bella. They have been associated with cultural and religious events of Buddhists and Hindus in Sri Lanka since ancient times. A chank shell with a hole cut in the wicker end is blown as a trumpet at various religious ceremonies. There are some who believe that keeping of one or more chank shells in a house brings good luck and fortune to the occupants. (The Island 08/01/03)

chapter: a community of Buddhist monks
Asgiriya Chapter Puts BBS On Notice (Sunday Leader 10/03/13)
President felicitates Mahanayake Thera of Malwatte Chapter (Daily News 30/05/14)

charmist: charmer, a person who casts magic charms or spells
It is also so easy to use the charmist. In the small hours, a dark figure slips over the wall. He carries a broad-bladed knife and a little packet – an oilskin wrapping which contains strange objects. It may consist of little wisps of human hair, a small wafer-thin piece of copper, a little ball of clay upon which strange symbols have been made, a vial of ash. (Colombo, by Carl Muller, page 104)
The charmist will get some oil charmed and after having them inside a metal case will give to the person to wear it. This goes for a good luck charm too, where one wears a talisman.
To take revenge from an enemy the charmist pins needles to a doll pronouncing the words of the charm to give a harmful effect on the person charmed. Here the devil enters the person and in taking possession gives physical pain and mental agony which includes irritations.
Charms are also resorted to win the love of another. In this case mainly the young or even elderly people approach a charmist who gets the devil to take possession and help in this need. (Sunday Leader 15/02/04)

chatty roast: (dated) a meat dish made in a chatty
There were chatty roasts and mulligatawny, ... (A Nice Burgher Girl, by Jean Arasanayagam, page 246)
… boiled eggs and cuts of cold chatty roast … (Beggar’s Feast, by Randy Boyagoda, page 190)
… signature dishes like clay pot cooked Chatty Roast Chicken, … (Sunday Times 23/12/12)

chusfy (= kusukusufy): (coll.) to whisper in a subversive way
But I didn’t want to deal with relatives or them casting remarks or those chusfying whispers and ‘in vain’ kind of looks behind my back. (The Moon in the Water, by Ameena Hussein, page 73)

Cinnamon Gardens (= Colombo 7): upmarket residential area of Colombo
… the big mansions and the solidly built houses of the prosperous Tamil families in Cinnamon Gardens. (All is Burning, by Jean Arasanayagam, page 317)
"This is the Cinnamon Gardens Police OIC." (A Cause Untrue, by David Blacker, page 378)
…all those esoteric village dishes they were not likely to taste in other grand Cinnamon Gardens households. (The Good Little Ceylonese Girl, by Ashok Ferrey, page 191)
There were plenty of apartment blocks springing up all over Cinnamon Gardens that they could move to. (Serendipity, by Ashok Ferrey, page 143)

cinnamon peeler: a person who harvests cinnamon; also the name of a caste (Salagama); also cinnamon-peeling
Preserving their own group character, the karava, salagama and duravas came to be associated with non-service occupations, namely fishing, cinnamon-peeling and toddy-tapping, respectively. (Nobodies to Somebodies, by Kumari Jayawardena, page 168)
Jinadasa walked along the rutted road to his home in the cinnamon plantation. His father, the cinnamon peeler, waited for him. (Somewhere, by Vijita Fernando, page 62)
They now lived in whitewashed houses on the boundary of their land, close to the groves where cinnamon peelers stacked their crops. (A Little Dust on the Eyes, by Minoli Salgado, page 122)
Sri Lanka moves to overcome cinnamon peeler shortage (Lanka Business Online 26/10/12)

coconut flower: the flower of the coconut tree, used as a decoration
(Click here to see a photograph)
After the wedding ceremony, in the walauwa bedroom that had been made the bride’s dressing chamber with profuse jasmine and strung coconut flowers and lit lamps and uneaten, ant-attacked sweets, ... (Beggar’s Feast, by Randy Boyagoda, page 90)
The bride is escorted on to the raised dais decorated with jasmines and coconut flowers and little oil lamps … (Somewhere, by Vijita Fernando, page 50)

coconut garden: coconut estate, coconut field (SAE) (> tea garden)
Kollupitiya had large, bare open spaces with a few coconut gardens, … (Colombo, by Carl Muller, page 459)
It lay smack in the middle of a small coconut garden where boys played cricket … (Spit and Polish, by Carl Muller, page 341)

coconut honey, coconut treacle (= polpani): honey produced from the coconut tree
“We buy a bottle of coconut treacle for Rs 175 whereas it used to be just Rs 50,” … (Ceylon Today 25/08/13)
Pancakes served with fried banana, ice cream and coconut honey (rodeopub.com)

coconut husker: a person whose job is to dehusk coconuts
Coconut huskers stage protest (newspaper headline)
A coconut husker with a penchant for ripping mini skirts of teenage school girls with a razor blade, was arrested yesterday while ripping the skirt of a school girl returning from a tuition class in the Kuliyapitiya town, police said. (infolanka.com 11/09/04)

coconut shell (= polkatu): the shell of a coconut
… coconut husks and coconut shells which fed the flames … (All is Burning, by Jean Arasanayagam, page 268)
… and the embers burning in coconut-shell irons. The Dhobi-amma had an enormous pol-kattu iron in her laundry. We used a smaller one at home, putting the smouldering coconut shells into the iron, … (A Nice Burgher Girl, by Jean Arasanayagam, page 177)
On the trees, at almost exactly the same height, strips of bark were cut away to allow the raw, white latex to course down the tiny channels and into the coconut shells which were tied to each tree. (The Lament of the Dhobi Woman, by Karen Roberts, page 70)
The evening arrived under moonlight and the light of lamps improvised out of dry coconut shells. (Unplugged Quarter, by Vihanga Perera, page 47)
She thought of food cooked on the open fire in her grandparents’ kitchen, she sniffed the air, her eyes closed, as if coconut shells were burning in the sunshine outside the back door. (Homesick, by Roshi Fernando, page 48)
There were a few coconut shells and yoghurt cups strewn about, … (The Mirror of Paradise, by Asgar Hussein, page 107)
… pretty boys dresed as women with heavily painted faces and breasts that jutted out a mile, buttressed with coconut shells. (Somewhere, by Vijita Fernando, page 35)

coconut shell spoon (= polkatu handa): a spoon made from a coconut shell and used for cooking like a wooden spoon
…coconut shell spoons suspended from the spoon rack – one for the rice pot, the other for the milk, others for meat, fish and vegetables. (All is Burning, by Jean Arasanayagam, page 268)
Grandma comes out of the kitchen still holding a long black coconut shell spoon perfumed with yellow jak fruit curry. (Kider Chetty Street, by Jagath Kumarasinghe, page 118)
… a little soupcon of the gravy taken up with the coconut-shell spoon and slipped onto the cupped palm, … (A Nice Burgher Girl, by Jean Arasanayagam, page 249)
My fingers felt as if they had held these pots before, and had once traced the fine veins on the smooth coconut shell spoons. (The Lament of the Dhobi Woman, by Karen Roberts, page 67)

coconut water: the liquid inside a coconut
The stone appeared to breathe through its pores as the statue was bathed with turmeric and coconut water, sandalwood, kumkumum, fruit juices. (All is Burning, by Jean Arasanayagam, page 262)
There came a stir at the back of the crowd and a draught of coconut water was passed forward. (Beggar’s Feast, by Randy Boyagoda, page 65)
We drink sweet, fresh coconut water, cool as well water. (Island of a Thousand Mirrors, by Nayomi Munaweera, page 69)
In the presence of the assembly he has to split the coconut into two perfect halves … for the two halves to stand upright with the coconut water intact in each! (Somewhere, by Vijita Fernando, page 50)
Drinking champagne like it was coconut water. (Sinhala Only, by Manuka Wijesinghe, page 123)

coloury: (of tea) having a strong colour
The stronger and more coloury the tea, the better. For example strong coloury teas are preferred in the Middle-East. (Nation 04/06/06)
Carolina Estate is known to produce a thick coloury tea with good brightness, which is sought after by many CTC buyers. (Financial Times 26/02/13)

coming-of-age ceremony/party: a traditional ceremony organised when a girl reaches puberty
> Many cultures have different types of coming-of-age ceremonies, at different ages, and for boys as well as girls.
The story goes that the four girls went for a "coming of age" party of a classmate. (Sunday Times 14/07/02)
He had just occupied the rebuilt house and celebrated the coming of age ceremony of his eldest granddaughter, only weeks before tragedy struck him. (Daily News 14/09/05)
… a water-filled pot being smashed during a girl’s ‘coming of age’ ceremony to dispel evil influences on the newly fertile young girl; … (Island 11/01/11)
But from what originally transpired, the revelers at the ‘coming of age’ party had been creating quite a ruckus with loud speakers blaring into the wee hours of the morning that prompted neighbours to call in the Police Emergency. (Daily News 21/01/16)

condole: express sympathy, usually on someone’s death (SAE)
> The verb condole is rare in standard usage, and generally takes the form condole with someone on the death of …. The noun condolences is more common.
CPA Condoles on the Death of the Venerable Maduluwawe Sobitha Thero (cpalanka.org 09/11/15)
Sri Lanka President condoles over terrorist attacks in France (asiantribune.com 15/11/15)

conductor: the manager of an estate
Early the next morning, Uncle Rick received a telephone call from the conductor of his Kurunegala estate. (The Lament of the Dhobi Woman, by Karen Roberts, page 218)

conner: (coll.) liar
“Bloody ace conner,” says Ari. (Chinaman, by Shehan Karunatilaka, page 137)

cooling glasses: sunglasses (SAE)
She is in her early twenties and has participated in several confrontations and has lost one of her eyes. She wears a pair of cooling glasses. (sangam.org 06/10/04)
Dont forget your cap, cooling glasses. (comment on forum.autolanka.com 07/05/12)

cop: (coll.) school prefect
When the worst thing you could do at school was smoke in the bathrooms, flunk a test, chew gum or get caught to the “cops” taking off at 2:10 interval to hit the 3:30 Majestic matinee. (rootsweb.ancestry.com)

Cops: (in newspaper reports) Police Sports Club rugby team (> Airmen, Sailors, Soldiers)
These two last met in Colombo, last year and the Kandy side defeated the ‘Cops’, with a fine game of rugby, both in attack and defense. … (Sunday Observer 07/12/14)
Airmen stun Cops at Ratmalana (Sunday Times 21/02/15)

court mudaliyar: court official (> mudaliyar)
Court mudaliyar among treasure hunters (Island 22/05/07)
The charge sheet was read out to the accused Sakvithi by the Court Mudaliyar. (Island 26/09/12)
I had filed 4 motions relating to “Alcohol Driving” in the Traffic Court of Hulftsdorp and on that day the Court Mudaliyar knew I was keen to leave court around noon. (Island 12/07/13)
The Court Mudaliyar read over seventeen charges indicting the suspects. (Daily Mirror 22/11/13)

cover: under registered cover: by registered post
Since I did not receive a response, I wrote to him personally under registered cover on four occasions … (comment on thesundayleader.lk 18/09/12)

CR book: an A4-size lined exercise book
That last chapter was written in bed by hand on this CR book where I used to record Colombo Municipality rates. (Chinaman, by Shehan Karunatilaka, page 414)

creeping: working as a creeper (trainee tea planter)
… he was after all my 'guru' and mentor in planting, when yours truly did his stint of 'creeping' under the great man and thereafter served as Junior SD. (Sunday Times 29/01/06)
He had his first “creeping” assignment at Holyrood Estate, Talawakelle, under that Senior Planter and strict disciplinarian, Peter Inness. (Nation 03/01/10)
While creeping in a Dik-Oya tea estate, he learned Tamil and Sinhala, … (Sunday Observer 10/10/10)

CTC: ‘Crush, Tear, Curl’, a method of producing tea which differs from the orthodox method; CTC tea is normally used in tea bags
In Colombo, low grown CTCs again were in high demand and some invoices sold over $1.5 per kilo, according to the Forbes and Walker report. (Sunday Observer 07/08/05)
There are two methods for manufacturing tea, either CTC or Orthodox. The CTC method involves the rolled leaves passing through a series of cylindrical rollers with hundreds of sharp “teeth” that Crush, Tear and Curl. While tea made this way is financially more rewarding it sacrifices the delicate natural flavours of tea for the sake of convenience. (dilmah.com)

curry: a spiced meat, fish or vegetable dish (> rice and curry, black pork curry)
> The word curry (from Tamil kari) is of course common in standard English. It is particularly common in SLE in collocations such as: chicken curry, crab curry, dhal curry, fish curry, prawn curry, pork curry, potato curry

cut-out: a large-scale image of a politician used for election campaigns (SAE)
Cut-outs cut out: UNP Moratuwa Organizer Srinath Perera yesterday charged that an HQI attached to the Mount Lavinia police had destroyed his cut-outs which were on display at the Soysapura Flats in Moratuwa on Sunday. He alleged this HQI had come in a police vehicle and smashed the cut-outs. Mr Perera charged the cut-outs erected by the UPFA politicos in the area remained intact while only opposition cut-outs were removed. (Daily Mirror 31/12/08)
On one side of the arch was a cut-out of a roaring tiger. (Distant Warriors, by Channa Wickremesekera, page 189)
…a larger than life cut out of the Finance Minister stands for three months near the central bus stop. (Their Autopsy, by Vihanga Perera, page 102)
There were huge cut-outs of politicians along the route, oversize in their magnificence, advertising the forthcoming elections. (Serendipity, by Ashok Ferrey, page 37)
… earning quite a bit by stealing out of the family home at two or three o’clock in the morning, in order to put up posters and cut-outs, and then (a few days later) by furtively taking them down again. (Rannygazoo, by Yasmine Gooneratne, page 314)

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