Interesting foreign phrases.

[mrmitchell]

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

Really?

Im having a tough time remembering commands but

"As-tu cheveux sur ton visage"
(Have hair on your face)

or is it just one single word?

PS English has a phrase like this too. "[eating hot coals; getting beat up in dodgeball; drinking until your liver disintegrates] puts hair on your chest" - which means "[whatever] makes you a man"...same idea, same phrase, different body part

I like the English way, you automatically know what a word is and most of the time you can pick up on a phrase real fast. And you can make any phrase that fits the situation

[Seeker]

Hey austrians my only exposure to such terms has been through other english teachers.

Are the following 'Classroom Expressions' austrian or german?

(bear in mind these are transliterations of the sound because I've never seen spelling of them)

Straber, straver, or StraBer (I don't know which): This is a comment from some kid at the back of the class when a smart student is making them look dumb. Means something like 'striver' or 'try-er' or something

Assen-puddle: Means something like ass-puddle?

Anyway help me out.

[Pekka]

"forward, said grandma in snow"
"the faster, the faster" .

[Toby Rowe]

Dunno,

As a Londoner speaking English and London slang:

Knackered= exhausted
(but comes from the cockney term "a Knackers Yard"), In proper English it's a slaughter house for horses.

I'm pissed= I'm drunk

You w-anker= you idiot or t-wat (northern english), said amongst mates if one did somthing daft: to a stranger it would be very rude, although grinning whilst saying it would cancel the rudeness in all cases, however, neither is really bad, It's rare the word is used in anger- normally used in a friendly way, I'm shocked this site has banned both.

My last Rabbit was called T-w-a-t, it isn't a bad word, silly Apolyon........

Nipper= a kid/child, my son might be 19, but he is still my nipper.

Toby :-)

[Rufus T. Firefly]

This is sort of the reverse of the original question, but Tagalog (a.k.a Filipino) does not have words for either "hello," "goodbye," "please," or "I'm sorry/excuse me."

[mrmitchell]

How do they greet each other, Rufus?

I can mentally grasp a culture not having manners things like "please" or "excuse me" - but no "hello" and "goodbye"?

What social custom or langauge phrase or whatever replaces them?

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Originally posted by mrmitchell
How do they greet each other, Rufus?

I can mentally grasp a culture not having manners things like "please" or "excuse me" - but no "hello" and "goodbye"?

What social custom or langauge phrase or whatever replaces them?

Greetings are either more or less formal than "hello." More formal is time-of-day specific (good morning, good evening, etc.). Less formal is a gesture -- generally a nod of the head or raised eyebrows. But there's no generic.

The substitute for "goodbye" is more interesting. The most common substitute is the phrase "O sige," which is the same phrased used in the middle of a conversation to signal that the speaker is either changing in topic or or about to summarize what's been said. It roughly translates to "okay, then." In essence, it means no conversation ever ends, even when the speakers leave each others company!

Of course, given the history of the US here, lots of folks just use English for the words Tagalog doesn't provide.

[Wernazuma III]

Originally posted by Seeker
Straber, straver, or StraBer (I don't know which): This is a comment from some kid at the back of the class when a smart student is making them look dumb. Means something like 'striver' or 'try-er' or something

I don't know if they use Streber in Germany too, could be an Austria-only expression. Yes, Streber literally means something like "tryer" but bascially it translates to nerd.

Assen-puddle: Means something like ass-puddle?

Aschenputtel. Asche=Ashes. Puttel doesn't have a proper translation, but I guess it is an antiquated word for "modest woman".
Aschenputtel is a German name for Cinderella and thus also can be used to describe something modest at first glance which really isn't.

[Henrik]

Originally posted by Wernazuma III


I don't know if they use Streber in Germany too, could be an Austria-only expression. Yes, Streber literally means something like "tryer" but bascially it translates to nerd.

This word exists in Swedish as well (probably imported from Germany).

[alva]

In Dutch too.

puts hair on your chest

Can be translated literally in dutch

The Dutch also have many phrases not found in English; uitwaaien is Dutch for walking in windy weather for fun.

Close, but it's slightly different.
It's more cooling down sort of thing, as in a couple having a row and one leaves the house to go for a walk and cool down a bit.

[molly bloom]

I like the French saying that 'you speak French like a Spanish cow'- in other words, badly.


It somehow gets the idea across whilst being simultaneously picturesque and insulting.


Very French, indeed.


I also enjoyed the Moroccan one, that a meal was so expensive, it cost him his eyes.

[Harovan]

Originally posted by Wernazuma III
I don't know if they use Streber in Germany too, could be an Austria-only expression. Yes, Streber literally means something like "tryer" but bascially it translates to nerd.

Yes, and it has a negative touch.

Aschenputtel. Asche=Ashes. Puttel doesn't have a proper translation, but I guess it is an antiquated word for "modest woman".
Aschenputtel is a German name for Cinderella and thus also can be used to describe something modest at first glance which really isn't.

Sometimes Aschenputtel is called Aschenbrödel too.

I think "puttel" is a derivate of "Puttchen", which is a word for a very home-and-children centered housewife and means something like Glucke (clucking hen).

[Kassiopeia]

Originally posted by mrmitchell

Really?

Im having a tough time remembering commands but

"As-tu cheveux sur ton visage"
(Have hair on your face)

or is it just one single word?

I don't think it's a command. More like an infinitive:

"to be a man" = "to have hair on your face" = "avoir cheveux sur ton visage" (I'm not sure about the cheveux or the sur but I'll go with what you got)

[Spiffor]

I suppose Oerdin refers to "avoir du poil au menton" (to have hairs on the chin)

[mrmitchell]

spiffor