"burning their cakes"

[Laurence Horn]

At 4:39 PM -0400 9/4/09, Amy West wrote:
>I'm scratching my head about a phrase I've come across: I think it's
>a Britishism. . .
>
>It was AElfred, Victorian school children were taught, who unified
>the nation, saved the English from the invaders, and founded the
>British Navy, while mixing with the common people with east

I'm assuming this is actually intended to be "with ease" and not
"with yeast"?  The latter would, however, fit better with the cakes.

LH

>, despite
>burning their cakes.
>  --- Julian Richards, _Vikings: A very short introduction_, p. 123
>
>It's the "despite burning their cakes" that has me scratching my head.
>
>---Amy West
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org