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Crosswordese.Com |
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APPAREL WEEK
Word of the Day - Saturday, February 19thForeign Words, Places... |
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Word of the Day
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Eton (EE-tuhn) Common clues: 1. Preppy jacket; Broad collar 2. British prep school; English school Eton jacket Definition: A short black jacket that has wide lapels, an open front, and is cut square at the hips.
The Eton suit is probably the only instance of a specific school uniform (that of the younger boys of Eton College) becoming a general juvenile fashion. The costume gradually evolved during the 19th century, and by the Edwardian era boys from respectable families were invariably put into the ubiquitous Eton suit as their Sunday best outfit. In the meantime, at many private schools 'Etons' became the everyday dress of younger pupils. [Courtesy: http://www.archivist.f2s.com/bsu/EtonSuit.htm] Eton College is a public school (that is, an independent, fee-paying secondary school) for boys in Eton, Berkshire near Windsor in England.
It boards approximately 1,200 boys between the ages of 13 and 18 who enjoy some outstanding facilities at a cost of over £23,000 (GBP) a year. As at most 'public schools', its pupils achieve very good exam results. 'Public schools' in the English sense are not state funded or run, rather they are the top independent secondary schools. It is famous for its alumni (known as Old Etonians) and the archaic traditions it maintains, including a uniform of black tailcoat and waistcoat, false-collar and pin-striped trousers. The uniform was first worn as mourning for the death of George III, and the uniform is still worn today for classes (known as "divisions" or "divs".) Other idiosyncrasies include the Eton Field Game, the Eton Wall Game, and the remnants of a peculiar slang. The school is popular with the Royal Family and has produced nineteen Prime Ministers. There are many old Etonians in the Special Air Service (SAS). See the list at the foot of this page for more well-known Old Etonians.
The King's College of Our Lady of Eton beside Windsor was founded in 1440 by Henry VI as a charity school to provide free education to seventy poor students who would then go on to King's College, Cambridge, founded by Henry VI in 1441. Henry VI took half the scholars and the headmaster from William of Wykeham's Winchester College (founded 1382). Eton is modelled on Winchester College, and became popular in the 17th century. It is often suggested that the Duke of Wellington claimed "The Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing-fields of Eton". The credibility for this is believed by some to be dubious: Wellington briefly attended Eton, for which he had no great love, in the late 18th century, when the school had no playing fields or organised team sports, and the phrase was first recorded three years after the Duke's death. The Duke was, however, wildly popular at Eton, visiting many times later in his life. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Eton College".
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