Interesting foreign phrases.

[Dinner]

I read a BBC article on phrases found in other languages which have no direct translation into English and I thought, since poly is so multicultural, we could share a few here. While English has the largest vocabulary of any language it never the less misses out on several good words which other languages have created to solve unique problems.

Take bakku-shan for instance, in Japanese it means a girl who appears pretty from behind but not from the front. German is closely related to English but they often merge words together to form new ones so there are loads which are not found in English. Kummerspeck means to gain weight due to over eating while depressed. A Putzfimmel is a mania for cleaning while many a poly husband could identify with Drachenfutter - literally translated as dragon fodder - are the peace offerings made by guilty husbands to their wives.

The Dutch also have many phrases not found in English; uitwaaien is Dutch for walking in windy weather for fun. The Inuit word for a good time is igunaujannguaq, literally meaning frozen walrus carcass, which originated as some sort of game.

Do any of you know new words which don't translate well into English?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4248494.stm

[Zkribbler]

French as "have fur on your face" meaning be a man.

The Japanese had "sayonara homurun" for awhile, but then we came up with "walk-off home run." A still prefer the Japanese.

[Richelieu]

Originally posted by Zkribbler
French as "have fur on your face" meaning be a man.

What's the french expression?

[Bosh]

"it's a carrot" means "of course" in korean
I also like "princess disease" a lot...

[rah]

One I've seen here often but first heard from one of my friends from overseas.

****er.


Must be too common if the censor catches it. It starts with a W an ends with a K, so you get the point.

[Nacht]

Why not follow Douglas Adams suggestion and use geographical names for words that don't exist but should

Abilene: Descriptive of the pleasing coolness on the reverse side of the pillow.

Aboyne: To beat an expert at a game of skill by playing so appallingly that none of their clever tactics or strategies are of any use to them.

Abescon: An annual conference held at the Dragonara Hotel, Leeds, for people who don't have any other conferences to go to.

Aith: The single bristle that sticks out sideways on a cheap paintbrush

Beppu: The triumphant slamming shut of a book after reading the final page

Cafu: The frustration of not being able to remember what an acronym stands for.

Dalfibble: To spend large periods of your life looking for car keys.

Dallow: Perfectly content to stare at something for no particular reason.

Dalmilling: Continually making small talk to someone who is trying to read a book.

Darvel: To hold out hope for a better invitation until the last possible moment..

Dattuck: One who performs drum solos on their knees.

Deventer: A decision that's very hard to make because so little depends on it - like which way to walk around a park.

Dinsdale: One who always plays chopsticks on the piano.

Dunboyne: The realization that the train you have patiently watched pulling out of the station was the one you were meant to be on.

Dunino: Someone who always wants to do whatever you want to do.

Dunster: A small child hired to bounce at dawn on the occupants of the spare bedroom in order to save on tea and alarm clocks.

Epsom: An entry in a diary or a name in an address book, which you haven't the faintest idea of what it's doing there.

Ferfer: One who is very excited that he's had a better idea than the one you've just suggested.

Frutal: Rather too eager to be cruel to be kind.

Gammersgill: Embarrassed stammer you emit when a voice answers the phone and you realize that you haven't the faintest recollection of who it is you've just rung.

Glenties: Series of small steps by which someone who has made a serious tactical error in
conversation or argument, moves from complete disagreement to wholehearted agreement.

Gribun: The person in a crisis who can always be relied on to make a good anecdote out of it.

Hextable: The record you find in someone else's record collection which instantly tells you - you could never go out with them.

Kelling: The action of looking for something all over again in all the places you've already looked.

Kent: Politely determined not to help despite a violent urge to the contrary. Kent expressions are seen on the faces of people who are good at something, watching someone else who can't do it at all.

Kowloon: One who goes to an Indian restaurant and orders an omelette.

Lambarene: Feeling better for having put pyjamas on.

Liff: A common object or experience for which no word yet exists.

Little Urswick: The member of any class who most inclines the teacher toward the view that capital punishment should be introduced in schools.

Low Eggborough: A quiet little unregarded man who is building a new kind of atomic bomb in his garden shed.

Lublin: The bit of somebody's body which their partner particularly likes.

Macroy: An authoratitive, confident opinion based on one you just read in a newspaper.

Meadle: To blunder around a woman's breasts in a way that does absolutely nothing for her.

Munster: A person who continually brings up the subject of property prices.

Nindigully: One who constantly needs to be re-persuaded of something they've already agreed to.

Nossob: Any word that looks as if it's probably another word backwards, but turns out not to be.

Nottage: The collective name for things you immediately find a use for as soon as you've thrown them out.

Nupend: The amount of small change found in the lining of an old jacket which just saves your bacon.

Oswestry: The inability to find a comfortable position in bed.

Ozark: One who offers to help just after all the work has been done.

Peoria: The fear of peeling too few potatoes.

Pidney: The amount of coffee in the bottom of the jar which doesn't amount to a spoonful.

Pofadder: A snake that can't be bothered to bite you.

Polbathic: Gifted with the ability to manipulate taps using only the feet.

Querrin: A person who no-one has heard of, who unaccountably manages to make a living writing prefaces.

Rhymney: That part of a song lyric which you suddenly discover you've been mishearing for years.

Samalaman: One who fills the gaps in conversations by beaming genially at people and saying 'Well, well, well, here we all are then,' a lot.

Shoeburyness: The vague uncomfortable feeling you get when sitting on a seat that is still warm from somebody else's bottom.

Sittingbourne: A conversation where both people are waiting for the other to shut up so they can get on with their bit.

Smyrna: The expression on the face of one whose joke has gone down rather well.

Spreakly: Irritatingly cheerful in the morning.

Winkley: A lost object which turns up immediately after you've gone and bought a replacement for it.

Woking: Standing in the kitchen wondering what you came in here for.

Wrabness: The feeling after having tried to dry oneself with a damp towel.

Yetman: A yes-man who is waiting to see whom it would be most advantageous to agree with.

[Wezil]

Nacht - You left out Toronto. Quite interesting definition if I recall correctly....

[germanos]

I had no idea "uitwaaien" was typically Dutch

[Chemical Ollie]

The Swedish phrase for "so what?" - Än sen då?

Translate it word for word to English and you get "Then then then?"

[Provost Harrison]

Ah yes, The Meaning Of Liff

[Provost Harrison]

Why does Swedish have so many words for 'Then'?

[Starchild]

According to my svenska beau, swedish has no direct translation for "oh for f**k's sake". I also once spent ten minutes trying to get the concept behind "oi vey" to him. The lesson is don't talk yiddish around the swede.

(spiel also took some time to get across)

[Wernazuma III]

:yiddish: Best language ever. There are so many unique yiddish words that simply can't have a really good translation. My favorite yiddish words is "Shikse", which actually means "non jewish girl" but is offensively used, somehow a bit like "b**ch", but, of course, 10 times more subtle in meaning.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Wernazuma III
:yiddish: Best language ever. There are so many unique yiddish words that simply can't have a really good translation. My favorite yiddish words is "Shikse", which actually means "non jewish girl" but is offensively used, somehow a bit like "b**ch", but, of course, 10 times more subtle in meaning.

it derives from a Hebrew word which means "something that contaminates by touch" - which is why I dont use it, or its male counterpart, thus causing some confusion when i need to refer to Polys favorite commie.

[Wernazuma III]

And I like Bakku-shan - an awesome concept.

Viennese is, similar to Yiddish, an awesome source for originary concepts (Trutschn is maybe a word that can rival Shikse).
"Owazahrer" (Down-puller)equally describes someone who is lazy (preferably used to descibe people who work in the public service) and party-poppers.
"Blitzgneisser" (Ray-catcher) is an ironic way to say that someone's a bit slow with understanding things.
"Zwutschgerl" is a small and weak person. Believe me, you never felt that small and weak until a Viennese called you a "Zwutschgerl".
This word is a diminutive somehow derived from "Zwetschke"="Plum".
"Schasaugad" (Fart-eyed) describes people with a bad sight.
"Goschnzement", literally "yap cement", describes Polenta just so perfectly.