I come from a family of engineers and I concur. They work with cold, hard science. It's the only thing that matters to them, work-wise. Architects come up with a design, but engineers have to figure out how to actually build that.
My perception is engineers are practitioners of applied science. Therefore, more concern about applications, problem-solving, safety/reliability and cost-benefit analysis. Essentially, less concern about fundamental theories/breakthroughs. Engineers can get inventions and patents for economic gains/benefits. Scientists would very seldom.
Anytime someone asks I just tell them Engineers are applied physicists from the 18-20th century. Physics is usually ahead of the curve and engineers are lagging on making products work under those previous discoveries. Many time the overlap is pretty significant though.