While most people accept that they can’t understand what Elizabeth is singing, assuming it must be some foreign language (it is, sometimes), many of the words we see in the song titles and occasionally hear in her lyrics are real. Cocteau Twins fans have searched dictionaries, encyclopædias, the internet, and numerous other sources to track down the meanings behind these words. Don’t expect to gain too much insight into what the songs are about, though, as they aren’t always related. Elizabeth tended to decide song titles at the last minute.

AIKEA-GUINEA (“Aikea-Guinea”): n. [Scottish slang] 1. A seashell. 2. A coin.

ATHOL-BROSE (“Athol-Brose”): n. [Scottish] A porridge made of oatmeal, honey, and whiskey. Most likely originated in the town of Atholl.

BLUEBEARD (“Bluebeard”): n. [Folklore] A fairy-tale character who marries and then murders one wife after another.

BLUE BELL KNOLL (“Blue Bell Knoll”): n. [Folklore] In old English legend, if one can hear the knoll (an ancient version of the word “toll”) of the bluebell flower, then death is upon him. [Botany] A “bluebell” is a plant bearing bell-shaped, blue flowers, esp. a. A European plant, Scilla nonscripta, with grass-like leaves and fragrant, blue-violet flower clusters. b. The harebell. c. A plant of the genus Martensia. Also n. [Geography] More literally, a physical feature found in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Utah, also known as Bluebell Knoll or Boulder Mountain, its elevation is 11,317 ft / 3,449 m.

BROKEN-WINDED (“The Spangle Maker”): adj. Term first documented in the 16th century meaning “affected with or as if with heaves,” such as “a broken-winded horse.”

BURL (“Ella Megalast Burls Forever”): v. [Scots burrel or burl] To whirl, revolve rapidly, or dance. [NB: This definition is more likely the context for Liz’s use of the word. This song is actually about Robin Guthrie’s mother. Elizabeth explained in an interview in 2017, “She was quite a big woman, in terms of personality as well as physiqu