More Than Just Houses: Cottages

A cottage is a small house, especially an old one in the country. These are often thought of in a very romantic way as being cosy and safe, and having a thatched roof and roses round the door:
They dreamed of buying a little cottage in the country.

cottage cheese
A soft lumpy white cheese made from sour milk. Also called pot cheese; also called regionally Dutch cheese or smearcase.
It is fairly low in fat and often eaten by people trying to lose weight.

cottage country
(Canadian) any lakeside region where many country cottages are located.

cottage hospital
a small hospital, usually in a rural area.

cottage industry
an industry in which employees work in their own homes, often using their own tools and equipment.

cottage loaf
a loaf consisting of two round pieces, the smaller of which sits on top of the larger.

cottage piano
a small upright piano.

cottage pie
another term for shepherd's pie (a baked dish of minced meat covered with mashed potato).

cottage pink
European pink (= plant) cultivated for its very fragrant pink or rosy flowers.

cottage tulip
A late-blooming type of garden tulip having long stems and egg-shaped, variously coloured flowers.

Far from its positive connotations, cottage can also mean a public lavatory. Cottaging refers to the homosexual activity between men in a public lavatory, which is illegal in Britain.