I Never Knew There Was a Word For It
Page 21
Schlürfbude (German) a fast-food restaurant (literally, slurp dump)
dolorosa (Spanish) a restaurant bill (literally, painful)
Abendteuer (German) an expensive evening (literally, an adventure)
The condemned man is a final meal
Possibly the strangest takeaway of all is described by the Russian word korova: this is the unfortunate person that prison camp escapees take with them to eat over their period of flight and in their hideout (it literally means ‘a cow’).
IDIOMS OF THE WORLD
Too many cooks spoil the broth
sendou ooku shite fune yama ni noboru (Japanese) too many captains and the boat will go up a mountain
qi shou, ba jiao (Chinese) seven hands, eight feet
idha kathira ar-rababina gharigat as-safina (Arabic) too many captains sink the ship
zo mangna go lhong mi tshu (Dzongkha, Bhutan) when there are too many carpenters the door cannot be erected
seul mui à vugulion a vez, e vez falloc’h gouarnet ar saout (Breton, France) the more cowherds there are, the worse the cows are looked after
puno baba, kilavo dijete (Croatian) with many midwives, the child will be lazy
veel varkens maken de spoeling dun (Dutch) many pigs make the slops sparse
zyada jogi math ujaad (Hindi) too many saints can ruin the monastery
troppi galli a cantar non fa mai giorno (Italian) with too many cocks singing it is never going to dawn
zuun yamaand jaran uhana (Mongolian) one hundred goats for sixty billy goats
u pyati nyanek dyetya byez glaza, u cemyorykh – byez golovy (Russian) when there are five nurses the child loses an eye – with seven nurses the child is finally found to lack a head
haber más capeadores que toros (Costa Rican Spanish) there are more bullfighters than bulls
15.
One for the Road
fra børn og fulde folk skal man høre sandheden (Danish)
from children and drunks you will hear the truth
The towel of a hippy
The quenching of thirst is another sensation that brings out evocative descriptions. In Chilean Spanish they say they are tener mas sed que piojo de muneca, thirstier than a louse on a doll; or again, in more contemporary usage, toalla hippy, than the towel of a hippy:
tarfa (Hausa, Nigeria) to pour out drop by drop
gargalacar (Portuguese) to drink from the bottle
funda (Swahili) to fill the mouth with water until the cheeks are distended
srann (Gaelic) a drink as deep as one’s breath will permit
ngalela (Setswana, Botswana) to drink and drain the contents of a container in one go
avoir la dalle en pente (French) to have the throat on a slant (in order to be able to drink constantly)
The milky way
The men of the African Toubari and Massa tribes observe a rite called gourouna in which they retire for several months from ordinary pursuits and restraints and drink prodigious amounts of milk.
Social drinking
No one should boire en Suisse (French), drink alone in secret (literally, drinking in the Swiss way). It’s always healthier to share the experience:
gonets (Russian) one sent to buy alcohol for friends (literally, a herald)
chistra (Breton, France) to go from farm to farm and ask for cider
cayetanas (Mexican Spanish) a code word for apple cider disguised in a beer bottle, ordered by cabaret hostesses who don’t want to get drunk
afdrinken (Dutch) let’s have a drink and be friends
glaoch (Irish) the act of calling for a round of drinks at a pub
Bob (Dutch) the designated driver, the one who sticks to one beer and drives everybody home from wherever they’ve been partying (Bob was the name used originally in a famous anti-drink-drive campaign)
Altered states
Soft drinks will satisfy our thirst, but are never as exciting as those which are a bit stronger. It’s surely no coincidence that most of the best words about drinks and drinking involve alcohol. As the literal meaning of the Amerindian Mingo word for alcohol, teka’niköëtényös, has it, it changes minds from one way to another: whether it’s beer you’re drinking …
sampa (Rukwangali, Namibia) to taste beer with one’s finger
bufferbiertje (Dutch) the beer that is standing next to the beer you’re drinking and serves as a buffer in case you finish drinking your beer before you have a chance to get the barman’s attention (literally, buffer beer)
der Diesel (German) a mixture of beer and cola
On reflection
To your good health?
Around the world the commonest drinking toast is to good health: Na zdravje (Slovenian), Salud (Spanish), Saúde (Brazilian Portuguese), Kia Ora (Maori), Egészségedre (Hungarian), Gezondheid (Flemish). The Ukrainians take this to the next level with Budmo!, which means ‘let us live forever!’
In contrast, the Scandinavian drinking toast Skål! (pronounced ‘skoal’) has a much more macabre background, as it originally meant ‘skull’. The word is alleged to have come down from a custom practised by the warlike Vikings who used the dried-out skulls of their enemies as drinking mugs.
… or something rather more powerful:
Dreimännerwein (German) a wine so disgusting it takes three men to drink it (two men to make you drink it – you are the third)
kadamsana (Malawi) a very strong home-made spirit (literally, that which brings darkness during the day – aptly describing its knock-out effects)
Vodka vocabulary
The Russians, in particular, have a fine set of words for the many styles of tippling:
pogoda shepchet to take time off from work, or a desire to get drunk (literally, the weather is whispering)
bukhat’ to drink alone
deryabnut’ to drink quickly in order to warm up
gorlo to drink from the bottle
vspryskivat’ to drink in celebration of a holiday or a new purchase (literally, to besprinkle)
daganyat’ sya to drink in order to get drunk, to try to catch up with the amount of drinking that others have already done
otglyantsevat’ to drink beer or wine after vodka (literally, to gloss a photo print)
ostogrammit’sya to drink 100 grams of vodka as a remedy for a hangover
False friends
full (Norwegian) drunk
grogi (Finnish) whisky and soda
pickle (Chilean Spanish) a person who drinks too much
jaw (Zarma, Nigeria) to be thirsty
On a slippery road
And all languages have evocative expressions for being drunk …
sternhagelvoll (German) full of stars and hail
rangi-changi (Nepalese) slightly too multi-coloured
être rond comme une bille (French) to be as round as a marble
redlös (Swedish) ride free
andar cacheteando la banqueta (Mexican Spanish) to go along with one’s cheek on the pavement
… and for the inevitable results of overdoing it:
khukhurhuteka (Tsonga, South Africa) to walk uncertainly, as a drunk man among people seated on the floor
midàbodàboka (Malagasy, Madagascar) to fall over frequently, as drunken men or people on a slippery road
mawibi (Ojibway, North America) drunken weeping
Backhendlfriedhof (Austrian German) a beer belly (literally, cemetery for fried chickens)
ne govori ou samoi muzh piatnisa (Russian) a shrug of understanding when sharing someone else’s problems (literally, no need to explain, my husband is a drunk)
Under the monkey
For the French you are as sober as un chameau (a camel) but as drunk as un cochon (a pig), une grive (a thrush), or even une soupe (a soup). In Lithuanian you can also be drunk as a pig (kiaulė), or then again as a bee (bitelė) or a shoemaker (šiaučius). Elsewhere you can be drvo pijan (Macedonian) drunk as a tree; jwei ru ni (Mandarin) drunk as mud; orracho como una uva (Cuban Spanish) drunk as a grape;
bull som en kaja (Swedish) drunk as a jackdaw; itdek mast (Uzbek) drunk as a dog; or einen Affen sitzen haben (German) to be dead drunk (literally, to have a monkey sit on one).
The morning after
It’s only when you get home that you may start to wonder what on earth possessed you:
rhwe (Tsonga, South Africa) to sleep on the floor without a mat and usually drunk and naked
gidravlicheskiy budil’nik (Russian) a full bladder (literally, an hydraulic alarm clock)
sasamudilo (Ndebele, Southern Africa) a drink of beer in the morning after a debauch, a pick-me-up
peregar (Byelorussian) the residual taste of alcohol in the mouth and the heavy stench of low-grade alcohol around a habitual drinker
Vineyard flu
And all drinking cultures have inventive expressions for the horrors of the morning after:
avoir la gueule de bois (French) to have a wooden mouth
babalasi (Venda, South Africa) a trembling hangover
futsukayoi (Japanese) a hangover (literally, second day drunk)
winderdgriep (Afrikaans) a hangover (literally, vineyard flu)
einen Kater haben (German) to have a hangover (literally, to have a tomcat)
scimmia (Italian) to have a hangover (literally, a monkey)
IDIOMS OF THE WORLD
Don’t cry over spilt milk
paid â chodi pais ar ôl piso (Welsh) don’t lift a petticoat after peeing
kusat sebe lokti (Russian) to bite one’s elbows
nasi sudah menjadi bubur (Indonesian) the rice has become porridge
eső után köpönyeg (Hungarian) coat after rain
16.
All in a Day’s Work
yesli khochetsya rabotat’ lyag pospi i vsyo proydyot (Russian)
if you feel an urge to work take a nap and it will pass
Pounce and decoy
Time was when going out to work meant leaving the cave or hut to forage for food:
mbwandira (Chichewa, Malawi) to catch a small animal like a bird or mouse by pouncing on top of it
puyugaktuq (Iñupiat, Inuit) to approach a sea mammal by crawling
tamigata (Yamana, Chile) to form together in a continuous line in order to drive birds up into a creek and then hemming them round to cut off their retreat to the open water
kanghanzila (Mambwe, Zambia) he who stands behind the game and imitates the lion’s roar so as to drive the game into the nets
sendula (Mambwe, Zambia) to find accidentally a dead animal in the forest (and be excited at the thought that a lion or leopard could be still around)
walakatla (Tsonga, South Africa) to fling down in disgust, as a hunter does with his spears when returning empty-handed
Point blank
In our rapidly developing world, this is obviously less and less the case, as age-old skills are replaced by a more up-to-date weapon:
paltik (Kapampangan, Philippines) a home-made gun
otselask (Estonian) a point-blank shot
tsikinika (Oshindonga, Namibia) to shoot something at close range
Dodo
Even if the matching cunning of animals remains much the same:
debideboo (Mandinka, West Africa) a bird which pretends not to be able to fly but slips away any time an attempt is made to catch it
kavraq (Iñupiat, Inuit) a wounded caribou that runs away unobserved
ugutur-kona-ina (Yamana, Chile) to go about on the water evading sight; to hide as ducklings or goslings do to evade the hunter
vulwa-vulwa-vulwa (Tsonga, South Africa) to run a little, stop and look round before proceeding, like a buck anxious not to be seen
Spear hurling
Out on the seas and oceans, however, the traditional tools of hook and net have not been seriously superseded; nor have the associated skills:
zekumuna (Luvale, Zambia) to pull out a fish which flies off the hook and falls onto the ground
alatkaqtuq (Iñupiat, Inuit) to scan the landscape from an elevated point, to look into water for signs of fish
ukomona (Yamana, Chile) to hurl the spear at fish, but at no special one, hoping to spear one among the shoal
wasswa (Ojibway, North America) spearing fish at night by the light of a torch
Eel dribbling
In the countless islands of the Pacific, such techniques have been carefully honed:
kikamu (Hawaiian) the gathering of fish about a hook that they hesitate to bite
atua tapa (Rapanui, Easter Island) the orientation point for fishermen, which is not in front of the boat, but on the side
hakakau (Hawaiian) to stand with precarious footing, as on the edge of a canoe looking for squid
’ea’ea (Hawaiian) to cover the eyebrows, as a fisherman shading the eyes while looking into deep water for fish
ka ro’iro’i i te koreha (Rapanui, Easter Island) to dribble on the eel, to drop your spittle, mixed with chewed bait, into the water to attract the eel
Sea women
In Japan, abalone fishing is often done in husband and wife teams. The women, who are thought to be better at holding their breath and withstanding the cold for long periods, do the pearl diving, while the husbands take charge of the boat and the lifeline. The wives are known as ama – ‘sea women’.
Bamboo cutters
Once the world moved on from hunting and gathering, a degree of occupational specialization was bound to creep in:
baradi’l (Arabic) a maker of donkey saddles
murd-shuy (Persian) a washer of dead bodies
ngmoruk-yaaroaba (Buli, Ghana) a ritual rain-maker
médara (Telugu, India) belonging to the caste that cut bamboos and live by selling them
gardziiba (Tibetan) an astrologist or a person in charge of the cups and dishes during parties
bakamyi (Rwanda and Burundi dialect) a person credited with supernatural powers who milked the royal cows
Mekametz (Talmudic Hebrew) a man who gathers dog faeces so that he may hand them over to the Burskai, men who process animal skins
Angel makers
As societies became more developed, so jobs became more rarified …
netty (Scots) a woman who traverses the country in search of wool
sunba (Tibetan) someone who looks after irrigation canals
bagaceiro (Portuguese) a workman who feeds sugar-cane husks into a furnace
poppendokter (Dutch) a mender of dolls (literally, a doll doctor)
catadeira (Portuguese) a woman who culls coffee beans by hand
faiseur d’anges (French) an illegal abortionist (literally, an angel maker)
paçaci (Turkish) a man who sells sheep’s trotters
khā ndika (Sanskrit) a seller of sugar plums
bengaleiro (Portuguese) an umbrella maker or salesman
False friends
trafik (Hungarian) tobacconist
agenda (French) notebook, diary
basin (Turkish) the press
fabric (Russian) factory
pasta (Portuguese) briefcase, folder
Soul plumbers
… until we end up with occupations that are entirely sophisticated and modern:
amanuensis (Dutch) a laboratory attendant
arquitonto (Central American Spanish) a stupid architect
basura (Spanish) rubbish inspectors
dal’noboishitsa (Russian) a prostitute who specializes in a clientele of truckers
değnekçi (Turkish) an unofficial/self-appointed parking attendant
Seelenklempner (German) a psychiatrist (literally, a soul plumber)
culero (Spanish) a drug smuggler who hides the drugs in his rectum
jasusa (Arabic) a woman spy
profesores taximetros (Columbian Spanish) part-time professors who hold a number of teaching positions at various institutions from and to which they rush by taxi (literally, taxicab professors)
On reflection
Hippopotomonstrosesquipedalianism
(the practice of using long words)<
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The Germans are renowned for their love of long words where several words are compounded to form an extremely specific word, often to do with the world of work, such as:
Donaudampfschifffahrtsgesellschaftskapitänsjackenknopfloch the buttonhole in the jacket of a captain of the Danube steam boat company
or Reichseisenbahnhinundherschiebershäuschen the little house of the state railway track shunter
But other languages also have their own lengthy words:
megszentségtelenithetetlenségeskedéseltekért (Hungarian) for your unprofaneable actions
kindercarnavalsoptochtvoorbereidingswerkzaamheden (Dutch) preparation activities for a children’s carnival procession
inconstitucionalissimamente (Portuguese) very unconstitutionally
prijestolonaslijednikovica (Croatian) wife of an heir to the throne
Low profile
Of course, to do a job properly, certain key skills are useful:
aprovechar (Spanish) to get the best out of or make the most of an opportunity
diam ubi (Malay) to work quietly or with a low profile until successful
kamgar (Persian) one who accomplishes whatever he wishes
dub-skelper (Scots) one who goes his way regardless of mud and puddles (used light-heartedly of a young bank clerk whose duty it is to run about giving notice that bills are due)