I Never Knew There Was a Word For It
Page 22
coyote (Mexican Spanish) a person who handles certain troublesome legal procedures at government agencies on behalf of third parties and for a fee, by means of kick-backs and/or bribes (literally, coyote, a wolflike wild dog)
Horn diggers
However, we should never underestimate the virtue of good, old-fashioned graft:
greadan (Gaelic) spending a considerable time and giving all one’s might to anything
balebosteven (Yiddish) to bustle like a meticulous housewife
ryt’ rogom zemlyu (Russian) to make great efforts (literally, to dig up the ground with one’s horn)
echar la casa por la ventana (Latin American Spanish) to go all out (literally, to throw the house out of the window)
sisu (Finnish) obstinate determination, heroic guts, stubborn persistence
dumog (Tagalog, Philippines) to be absorbed in the fulfilment of one’s task
Mice milkers
Even so, diligence isn’t everything. There are some poor workers who bust a gut but fail to please simply because they can’t see the bigger picture. The French describe this as chercher midi à quatorze, literally, to look for midday at two o’clock in the afternoon. To the Dutch, a person who pays excessive attention to detail is a mierenneuker – literally, an ant fucker; or, more charitably, a muggenzifter (mosquito sifter) or a punaisepoetser (pin polisher). But all cultures are colourful in their criticism:
Erbsenzaehler (German) someone concerned with small things (literally, counter of peas)
pilkunnussija (Finnish) an extreme pedant (literally, comma fucker)
taburaka (Gilbertese, Oceania) one who exaggerates rules and regulations, a stickler for the letter of the law
Mäusemelker (German) someone who eagerly concentrates on the nitty-gritty rather than the wider overview (literally, someone who milks mice)
gladit’ shnurki (Russian) to be over-solicitous, to do too much (literally, to iron someone’s shoelaces)
Jobsworth
Other colleagues bring other problems:
Schnarchnase (German) someone who is slow in acting (literally, snoring nose)
pezezengdeng (Manobo, Philippines) to be spoken to but sit motionless and ignore their request
reke (Yoruba, Nigeria, Benin and Togo) to wait in expectation of another’s mistake
kyag-kyag (Tibetan) throwing obstacles in the way of another’s work, out of spite
švejkování (Czech) deviously undermining your boss or circumventing your supervisor’s wishes while appearing angelically innocent and even rather simple (in the manner of the Good Soldier Svejk, the novel by Jaroslav Hasek)
suthi vuttiya (Tamil) the method used by call centre employees to avoid taking people’s calls by changing their place on the list
Promises, promises
At least you can rely on the hopeless, spiteful and devious to be counterproductive. Worse are those who promise to help but never deliver, or who rush around frantically but never get anywhere:
kaengeng (Gilbertese, Oceania) to say ‘yes yes’ and do nothing about it
llamarada de petate (Central American Spanish) an undertaking started with great enthusiasm and suddenly dropped (petate is a woven reed mat used for sleeping)
hubyahubyeka (Tsonga, South Africa) to hurry here and there achieving nothing
ningas-kugon (Tagalog, Philippines) the sudden spurt of enthusiasm followed by a slowing down and an eventual slipping back into old habits
robota ne vovk, v lis ne vtiče (Ukrainian proverb) I can get back to doing that later (literally, work is not a wolf, it doesn’t run into the woods)
nakinaki (Mandinka, West Africa) to go here and there pretending to be busy in order to avoid work
mikka bouzu (Japanese) a quitter (literally, three-day monk: a person who leaves the monkhood only three days after taking his vows)
Pedalling in yoghurt
The French, in particular, have a fine range of metaphors for not getting things done for one reason or another. Brasser de l’air is to give the impression of being busy (literally, to shuffle the air); peigner la girafe is to waste time in idle pursuits (literally, to comb the giraffe); pedaler dans le yaourt means to be getting nowhere fast (literally, to be pedalling in yoghurt); while un coup d’épée dans l’eau is a wasted effort (literally, a sword blow into water).
Counting the stars
One would almost prefer to work alongside those who model their lives on the Mexican Spanish expression el trabajo embrutece, work brutalizes …
poltrone (Italian) lazybones (literally, easy chairs)
shitat zvyozdy (Russian) to twiddle one’s thumbs (literally, to count the stars)
jeta (Swahili) a lazy person who does not stir himself to get the things he wants, but asks others to fetch them, even though the things may be quite near to him
bulat (Maguindanaon, Philippines) to have a phobia of certain jobs
imilila (Mambwe, Zambia) to work half-heartedly, all the time thinking about leaving
The company tribe
… or are perhaps waiting in hope for those sought-after positions that will surely, eventually, come up:
enchufe (Spanish) a cushy job (literally, a plug or socket)
anichado (Portuguese) hidden away, as in a niche; well-placed in a good job
der Tintenpisser (German) a bureaucrat (literally, ink pisser)
tagapagpaganáp (Tagalog, Philippines) an executive
ntlhelavasati (Tsonga, South Africa) a place where one works that is not too distant from home
shayo-zoku (Japanese) employees living extravagantly on company money (literally, the company tribe)
Sell out
Although it’s wise to remember that blind loyalty to the organization is much overrated:
ser líder charro (Mexican Spanish) to be a union leader who sells out to company management
wegloben (German) to laud away (i.e. if a superior wants to get rid of a co-worker he draws up an exaggerated testimonial to ensure that the unloved staffer leaves the company)
extraknäck (Swedish) a job on the side
kutu-loncat (Indonesian) someone who constantly moves from job to job for better prospects or wages (literally, jumping bug)
Lilies of the field
Perhaps the luckiest are those who don’t have to do anything at all:
goyang kaki (Malay) to shake one’s leg; to live comfortably without having to work hard; to live off one’s land or fortune or legacy
caer en blandito (Latin American Spanish) to have a situation turn out extremely well without much effort (literally, to fall on a soft surface)
péter dans la soie (French) to live the life of Riley (literally, to fart in silk)
IDIOMS OF THE WORLD
Bad workman blames his tools
el mal escribano le echa la culpa a la pluma/el cojo le echa la culpa al empedrado (Spanish) the poor writer blames the pen/the limping man blames the pavement
zlej baletnicy przeszkadza rąbek u spódnicy (Polish) a poor dancer will be disturbed even by the hem of her skirt
’araj al jamal min shiffatu (Arabic) the camel limped from its split lip
plokhomu tantsory (i) yaytsa meshayut (Russian) a poor dancer is impeded (even) by his own balls
17.
Game Theory
kush nuk di ç’është lodhja, ai nuk di ç’është çlodhja (Albanian)
who does not know tiredness, does not know how to relax
Celebrating Monday
However hard we work, it’s important to take time off, even if we have to be clever about how we arrange it:
hacer San Lunes (Mexican Spanish) to take Monday off because the weekend was too exhausting (literally, to celebrate St Monday)
puente (Spanish) bridge; the Spanish have their bank holidays on a Tuesday so that Monday will, on most occasions, be treated as a bridge day (an extra day of holiday), ensuring a four-day weekend; there is also a viaducto, which is when holidays fall on a Tuesday and a Thursday, thus e
nabling someone to take the whole week off
Slow start
How wonderful to let slip the usual routines, take your time, take it easy:
faire la grasse matinée (French) to sleep in (literally, to make a fat morning)
pegar(sele) las sábanas a (alguien) (Latin American Spanish) to oversleep (literally, to have the sheets stick to you)
guzu guzu suru (Japanese) being slow when you have something you should be doing; a half-wakeful sleep, especially in the morning when you have sort of woken up but are still playing with your dreams
faire le tour du cadran (French) to sleep the day away (literally, to do the tour of the clock’s face)
Idle time
Even when one has fully woken up there’s no pressure to do anything:
cangkul angin (Malay) hoeing the air; putting one’s feet up in the air or doing useless things
Although sometimes the lack of pressure can be pressurizing in itself:
Zeit totschlagen (German) somebody who has free time but doesn’t know what to do, so does something senseless (literally, to beat time to death)
egkila-kila (Maguindanaon, Philippines) to act foolishly as a means to combat boredom
tsurumun (Japanese) a single woman who dreads being alone on national holidays and invents reasons to visit friends
False friends
black (Swedish) ink
brief (German) letter
fart (French) ski wax
gong (Balinese) orchestra
war-side (Somali) newspaper
urinator (Latin) diver
rust (Dutch) rest or tranquillity
Cucumber troop
There are all kinds of things one can do with time off. What about watching some football? Fans would surely agree that few players can be a peleon (Puerto Rican Spanish), one who plays like Pele, but the Germans have gathered an evocative vocabulary for the highs (and lows) of watching a match:
der Schlachtenbummler a football fan who travels to support his team at home and away (literally, battle stroller)
der Hexenkessel a football stadium of the opposing team, with the fans creating a heated atmosphere (literally, witch’s cauldron)
kleinklein passing the ball from player to player without a plan (literally, small small)
Blutgratsche a nasty tackle
die Gurkentruppe a team that plays badly and unprofessionally, a disaster area, incompetent bunch of players (literally, cucumber troop)
Aggro
Or one could take up a heavier or more demanding sport:
bariga (Tagalog, Philippines) being thrown down in wrestling (literally, the bigger end of an egg)
atuila (Yamana, Chile) to press down on someone and make his legs give way so that he can be held down
munasat (Persian) taking hold of one another’s forelocks when fighting
binti (Manobo, Philippines) a test of strength in which one man stands with his legs apart and his opponent runs from behind and kicks him in the calf of the leg with his shin in an attempt to knock him over; they then change places and continue until one is clearly defeated or gives up because of the pain
Ski-lane terror
Up in the mountains, it’s fast, dangerous, but always fun:
Pistenschreck (German) a skier you have to watch out for (literally, ski-lane terrorist)
tulee! (Finnish) look out! I’m skiing/sledging down towards you at high speed! (literally, it’s coming!)
ahterijarrut (Finnish) falling off your skis and using your tail-end to stop (literally, arse-brakes)
Fackelabfahrt (German) a flaming-torchlight ski-run down the side of a steep snowy mountain, undertaken at night by around fifty skiers
On reflection
The sound of your heart racing
Every language has onomatopoeic words, whose sound and rhythm vividly describe the sound or action they describe:
hara hara doki doki (Japanese) the feeling of your heart racing when you’re scared or nervous
nyurrugu (Yidiny, Australia) the noise of talking heard a long way off when the words cannot be made out
vuhubya-hubya (Tsonga, South Africa) the flapping of pendulous breasts of a woman hurrying
krog-krog (Tibetan) a sound produced by grinding hard brittle objects together
empap (Malay) the sound of a flat object falling on a soft surface
mswatswa (Chichewa, Malawi) the sound of footsteps on dry grass
ndlangandzandlangandza (Tsonga, South Africa) the sound of drums during an exorcism ritual, beaten to cure a possessed person
geeuw (Dutch) a yawn
guntak (Malay) the rattle of pips in a dry fruit
gwarlingo (Welsh) the rushing sound a grandfather clock makes before striking the hour
phut (Vietnamese) the noise of string or rope that snaps
zhaghzhagh (Persian) the noise made by almonds or by other nuts shaken together in a bag
schwupp (German) quick as a flash (short for
schwuppdiwupp)
szelescic (Polish) the sound when someone folds paper (pronounced scheleshchich)
Taking a dip
Down by the sea, river or lakeside, the activity on our day off is altogether gentler:
nchala-nchala-nchala (Tsonga, South Africa) to swim noiselessly and swiftly
zaplyvats (Byelorussian) to swim far out
maulep (Maguindanaon, Philippines) a diver who can stay underwater for a long time, holding his breath
kataobairi (Gilbertese, Oceania) to go under the surface of the water with only one’s nostrils above
terkapai-kapai (Malay) nervously moving the arms about (said of a bad swimmer)
tankah (Hawaiian Pidgin) a surfboard that seats six
limilimi (Hawaiian) to be turned over and over in the surf
Dizzy dancing
In many parts of the world, though, resources dictate that they have to make their own fun:
akkharikā (Pali, India) a game recognizing syllables written in the air or on one’s back
antyākshrī (Hindi) a poetic competition in which a contestant recites a couplet beginning with the last letter recited by the previous contestant and which is then carried on by rival teams
kapana (Setswana, Botswana) to catch each other with both hands when taking turns to fall from a height
sikki (Ilokano, Philippines) a game played by tossing pebbles aloft and catching as many of them as possible on the back of the hand
pitz/pokolpok (Mayan, Central America) a game in which the object is to put a rubber ball through a stone ring using only hips, knees and elbows
mmamadikwadikwane (Setswana, Botswana) a game in which a child spins round until dizzy; it’s also the term for ballroom dancing
Taking part
The Tagalog language of the Philippines has some great words to describe how – literally speaking – to play the game:
salimpusà asking someone to participate in a game to appease him, although he is not necessarily wanted
perdegana an agreement in certain games whereby the loser wins
haplít the final burst of energy when trying to win a race
Suits and tricks
If you’re grebleyi na kon’kakh (Russian) incompetent at sports (literally, to row on skates), perhaps it’s wiser to seek alternative thrills:
aéstomêhasené (Cheyenne, USA) to play cards for nothing; that is, to play without betting anything
hila’ (Manobo, Philippines) to take a trick with a winning card
orobairi (Gilbertese, Oceania) to hit the nose of the loser in cards
Kiebitz (German) an onlooker at a card game who interferes with unwanted advice
kofu kofu (Sranan Tongo, Surinam) a bet where the winner gets to hit the loser
Live entertainment
‘Those who have free tickets to the theatre have the most criticism to make,’ say the Chinese, but live entertainment can often be surprisingly enjoyable (for those taking part, that is):
recevoir son mo
rceau de sucre (French) to be applauded the moment one first appears on stage (literally, to receive one’s piece of sugar)
Sitzfleisch (German) the ability to sit through long and boring events without losing concentration (literally, seat meat)
One is fun
For the Japanese, gentler pleasures suffice:
sabi a feeling of quiet grandeur enjoyed in solitude (normally involving the beauty that comes from the natural ageing of things)
shibui a transcendently beautiful and balanced image, such as an autumn garden (literally, sour, astringent)
Stories with bears
Or one could indulge one’s creative urges:
brat s potolka (Russian) to make something up (literally, to take something from the ceiling)
hohátôhta’hàne (Cheyenne, USA) to laugh while storytelling
istories gia arkudes (Greek) narrated events that are so wild and crazy it seems that they can’t possibly be true (literally, stories with bears)
Bookmark
Or just kick back and enjoy the efforts of others:
kioskvältare (Swedish) a bestselling film/book (literally, something that tips over the booth)
hinmekuru (Japanese) to turn a page over violently
ádi (Telugu, India) a mark left in a book to show the place where the reader left off