Scottish cringe
n.— «Over the past week, as it became clear a decision on Megrahi’s future was imminent, many Scottish pundits and opposition politicians were consumed by what is called the Scottish cringe—the idea that some decisions are just too big for bonny wee Scotland and that Scots will inevitably make a mess of them. The handling of the affair has variously been described as a shambles, a mess and an embarrassment with accusations of spin and even deception, courtesy of the Liberal Democrats, chucked in for good measure.» —“ The Scottish cringe factor” by Ewan Crawford Guardian (United Kingdom) Aug. 20, 2009. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
It was a dark and stormy night. So begins the long and increasingly convoluted prose of Edwards Bulwer-Lytton’s best-known novel. Today the annual Bulwer-Lytton Contest asks contestants for fanciful first sentences that are similarly...
June in Miami, Florida, says every time she hears the name of this show, she’s reminded of a story that involves the tradition of fruit-filled Easter buns in her native Jamaica. She’d put hers on a windowsill at work, but at some point when she left...