Toujours Tingo

by Adam Jacot De Boinod

  edtiudan (Maguindanaon, Philippines) to pretend to be lame

  IDIOMS OF THE WORLD

  You cannot make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear

  rozhdennyj polzat letat ne mozhet (Russian) if you’re born to crawl you can’t fly

  on ne peut faire d’une buse unépervier (French) you can’t turn a buzzard into a sparrowhawk

  al draagt een aap een gouden ring, het is en blijft een lelijk ding (Dutch) even if the monkey wears a golden ring it remains ugly

  fare le nozze con i fichi secchi (Italian) to celebrate a wedding with dried figs

  10.

  Dressed to Kill

  siku utakayokwenda uchi ndiyo siku utakayokutana na mkweo ( Swahili)

  the day you decide to leavejour house naked is the dayjou run intojour in-laws

  A memorable smile

  Whatever Nature has provided you with, you always have the chance to make your own improvements:

  sulong (Iban, Sarawak and Brunei) to decorate the front teeth with gold (formerly brass)

  nyin-susu (Bambara, West Africa) to blacken someone’s gums for cosmetic purposes

  pen bilong maus (Tok Pisin, Papua New Guinea) lipstick

  False friends

  Rock (German) skirt

  veste (French) jacket

  romp (Afrikaans) skirt

  cilinder (Hungarian) top hat

  gulp (Dutch) fly (in trousers)

  Hairdressed to kill

  And hair is one very obvious place for the drastic makeover:

  rikuruto-katto (Japanese) a short haircut supposed to impress prospective employers (literally, recruit cut)

  wu-masweeswe (Kalanga, Botswana) shaving the hair in a sinuous outline across the forehead

  emperifollado(a) (Latin American Spanish) dressed to kill, particularly when it involves a complicated hairdo

  Topfschnitt (German) a certain haircut that looks a bit as if the hairdresser put a saucepan on someone’s head and cut all around it (literally, saucepan cut)

  Frigate

  Make sure not to overdo it:

  cerone (Italian) excessive make-up applied on one’s face (literally, grease paint)

  itoyewaton (Dakota, USA) to wear anything that makes one look frightful

  age-otori (Japanese) formally styling one’s hair for a coming of-age ceremony, but looking worse than before

  Verschlimmerung (German) an improvement for the worse

  die Fregatte (German) a heavily made-up old woman (literally, frigate)

  yubisakibijin (Japanese) a woman who spends a lot of her salary tending to her fingernails

  Ugly beautiful

  Though there are hundreds of poetic English words for different beautiful colours, there are very few for those at the less pleasant end of the spectrum. The Ojibway of North America say osawegisan, which means making something yellow with smoke, nicotine-stained. The Pali of India have a word for the bluish-black colour of a corpse – vinilaka – which literally means resembling neither father nor mother. The Amerindian Mingo words for the basic colours are just as evocative:

  uiskwanyë’ta’ê’ the colour of rotten wood (brown)

  unöwö’ta’ê’ the colour of limestone or plaster (white)

  uyë’kwææ’ê’ the colour of smoke (grey)

  tsitkwææ’ê’ the colour of bile (yellow)

  Berlin backsides

  Just because you can’t see your own backside doesn’t mean that others can’t. The Germans certainly notice these things:

  Arschgeweih a large symmetrical tattoo on the lower back, just above the bottom, resembling the shape of antlers

  Liebestoeter unattractive underwear (literally, love killer)

  Maurerdekoltee a bricklayer’s cleavage (the part of a man’s backside you can see when he stoops deeply and his trouser waistband goes down a little bit)

  Sails set

  All over the world, people enjoy escaping from their intractable shape in a fine outfit:

  kambabalegkasan (Maguindanaon, Philippines) the act of wearing new clothes

  sich auftakeln (German) to get all dolled up (literally, with all sails set)

  housunprässit (Finnish) trouser creases

  fifi (Argentinian Spanish) a fashion-conscious man, dandy

  kopezya (Mambwe, Zambia) tipping his hat down over his eyes

  pagalong (Maranao, Philippines) to look at oneself in the mirror

  Kangaroo teeth

  Though what works in one place won’t necessarily work in another:

  nastā (Hindi) a hole bored in the septum of the nose

  wo-kûs’-i-ûk (Maliseet, Canada) a necklace of claws

  kechchai (Tamil) little tinkling bells tied to the legs

  wowoodteyadla (Kaurna Warra, Australia) two or four kangaroo teeth bound together with hair and covered with grease and red ochre, worn on the forehead by fully initiated men

  okpukpu (Igbo, Nigeria) an ivory bangle worn by women with ten or more children, and sometimes by men to demonstrate their proven expertise

  borsello (Italian) a man’s handbag

  Hand-me-downs

  ‘Those who have fine clothes in their chests can wear rags,’ say the Italians, but in other parts of the world it’s not always true that the higher up you are in society the more likely you are to dress down:

  s chuzhovo plecha (Russian) second-hand clothes (literally, from a stranger’s shoulder)

  kamaeieia (Gilbertese, Oceania) to wear a garment until it is in tatters

  xúng xính (Vietnamese) to be dressed in oversized clothes

  mabelebele (Setswana, Botswana) the rags and tatters worn by a madman, a pauper or a traditional doctor

  Designer knitwear

  The two extremes of women’s intense relationship with clothes are chronicled by the Japanese. At one end there is nitto-onna, a woman so dedicated to her career that she has no time to iron blouses and so resorts to dressing only in knitted tops; and at the other there are ippaiyoku, women whose every garment and accessory are made by the same designer.

  Fashionista

  Most try to keep up with what everyone else is wearing, but there will always be some, thankfully, who remain gloriously independent:

  cowichan (British Columbia, Canada) a vividly patterned sweater

  buddi (Tamil) someone who wears thick glasses

  lambung (Maguindanaon, Philippines) to wear very big clothes

  agadagba (Igbo, Nigeria) men’s underpants woven from a mix of cotton, grass and tree bark

  arse gras (Tok Pisin, Papua New Guinea) a bunch of tanket leaves stuck into a belt to cover a man’s backside

  So village

  For as long as clothes have been around, people have sneered or laughed at what others have chosen to wear:

  topeewalla (Hindi) one who wears a hat, generally a European

  kampungan (Indonesian) someone who is incredibly out of fashion, outdated (literally, so village)

  hemdsärmelig (German) someone who behaves very rustically (literally, shirt-sleeved)

  ta-oiny (Car, Nicobar Islands) clothes-wearing foreigners

  samopal (Russian) home-made clothing sold under commercial labels (literally, a home-made cap gun)

  Clodhoppers

  Though hopefully not what they put on their feet:

  gállot (Sami, North Scandinavia) a shoe made out of hide taken from the head of a reindeer

  fittocks (Scots) the feet of stockings cut off and worn as shoes

  kirza (Russian) imitation leather boots

  innesko (Swedish) an indoor shoe

  jorg (Scots) the noise of shoes when full of water

  Barely there

  But then again isn’t one of the most enjoyable things about dressing up coming home and stripping off?

  huhu (Rapanui, Easter Island) to take off one’s clothes in one go, with a pull

  byambula (Tsonga, South Africa) to walk in the open completely naked

  Just make sure that when you get dressed again there’s no
confusion…

  vrenge (Norwegian) the action of putting right clothes which are inside out

  lopodutes (Ancient Greek) one who slips into another’s clothes

  terchausser (Gallo, France) to put the right foot into the left boot and vice versa

  embasan (Maguindanaon, Philippines) to wear clothes while taking a bath

  IDIOMS OF THE WORLD

  Don’t judge a book by its cover

  ngam tae rup, jub mai horm (Thai) great looks but bad breath

  l’abito non fa il monaco (Italian) clothes do not make the monk

  quern vê caras nāo vê coraçōes (Portuguese) he who sees face doesn’t see heart

  odijelo ne čini čoyjeka (Croatian) a suit doesn’t make a man

  het zijn niet alleen koks die lange messen dragen (Dutch) it’s not only cooks who carry long knives

  11.

  Stretching Your Legs

  zemheride yoğurt isteyen, cebinde bir inek taşir (Turkish)

  he who wantsjoghurt in winter must carry a cow in his pocket

  Travel broadens the mind, they say. But in these days of mass tourism and carbon footprints there’s a lot to be said for staying exactly where you are:

  dlanyaa (Tsonga, South Africa) to lie on one’s back with one’s legs apart, gorged with food

  lezarder (French) to lie around basking in the sun like a lizard

  bafalala (Tsonga, South Africa) to lie face down in the sun, to lie asprawl in the open

  naptakhpaya (Dakota, USA) to lie on one’s belly and rest on one’s arms

  ngumulo (Tagalog, Philippines) to put both hands under the head when lying down

  kagwia (Yamana, Chile) to go upstairs and lie down

  Presiding

  Not that you have to remain entirely supine to relax:

  sumernichat (Russian) to sit outside in the evening doing nothing

  seranggong (Malay) to sit with one’s elbows on the table

  kem-lo-re (Car, Nicobar Islands) to sit on someone’s knee

  upa-nishád (Sanskrit) sitting down at the feet of another to listen to his words

  mâhove’êsee’e (Cheyenne, USA) to have a tired bottom from sitting

  babaran-on (Ik, Nilo-Saharan) to sit in a group of people warming up in the early morning sun

  Go to hell

  ‘See Naples and die’ we’re all told, but what do you do after you’ve visited these admirably named places?

  Ecce Homo, Switzerland

  Egg, Austria

  Hell, Norway

  No Guts Captain, Pitcairn Island

  Saddam Hussein, Sri Lanka

  Sexmoan, Philippines

  Silly, Belgium

  Starbuck Island, Polynesia

  Wedding, Germany

  Enviable

  The Yamana people of Chile have clearly had plenty of time to think about the many permutations of sitting: utapanus-mutu is H to sit by the side of a person but not close to him; usata-ponur mutu is to turn round and sit facing someone; mumbu-moni is to sit holding anything between one’s lips; while kupas-aiiua-mutu is to sit envying a person.

  Upright

  If you get to your feet it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re on the move:

  pratyutthān (Hindi) rising from a seat as a mark of respect

  hó’kôhtôheóó’e (Cheyenne, USA) to stand leaning on a cane

  suka-a.-moni (Yamana, Chile) to stand dreaming

  hangama (Tsonga, South Africa) to stand with one’s feet wide apart (like a man taking up all the space before a fire)

  távoeóó’e (Cheyenne, USA) to stand looking goofy

  Pedestrian

  But once you’ve put one foot in front of the other there’s really no going back:

  semeioton (Greek) walking on the spot

  diváviharana (Sinhala, Sri Lanka) walking about in the day time

  hanyauka (Rukwangali, Namibia) to walk on tiptoe on warm sand

  ha shtatin (Albanian) to walk backwards in a bowed position

  Tip-tip-toe

  Although this simple action comes in many different styles:

  vukurukuru (Tsonga, South Africa) the noisy walk of a person in a bad temper

  endal (Malay) to walk with the head and shoulders held back and the breast and stomach thrust forward

  bikrang (Bikol, Philippines) to walk with the legs apart as if there was some injury to the area of the crotch

  onya (Setswana, Botswana) to walk at a slow pace nodding one’s head

  lonjak (Malay) to walk affectedly on tiptoe

  vydelyvat krendelya (Russian) to stagger, to walk crookedly (literally, to do the pretzel)

  uluka (Mambwe, Zambia) a person who walks as if he were carried by the wind

  The trees are blazed

  Be sure you know where you’re going…

  gembelengan (Indonesian) moving around without any certain direction

  sakgasakgile (Setswana, Botswana) to wander about like a homeless orphan

  … that the way ahead is clear:

  jimbulwila (Luvale, Zambia) to walk in an unknown place, where there is no clear path

  tlhotlhomela (Tsonga, South Africa) to wriggle one’s way through thick bush

  … that you’ve decided whether to cover your tracks:

  kodhola (Oshindonga, Namibia) to leave marks in the sand when walking kUdnawadakwaidade (Ojibway, North America) marks on the trees for the traveller to find the trail through the wood (literally, the trees are blazed)

  tuuna-gamata (Yamana, Chile) to walk over where others have walked before and thus make the tracks indistinct

  … and that the conditions are suitable:

  hanmani (Dakota, USA) to walk in the night

  tidiwitidiwi (Kerewe, Tanzania) dragging one’s steps through sand or mud

  pfumbura (Shona, Zimbabwe) to walk raising dust

  splerg (Scots) to walk splashing in mud

  shatoka (Lozi, Niger-Congo) to jump from one stone or log to another

  False friends

  lost (Cornish) tail, queue

  halt (Swedish) lame, limping

  loop (Dutch) walk, gait

  murmur (Persian) to creep

  silk (Bashgali, India) to be slippery

  That sinking feeling

  As what could be worse than losing your footing…

  anamni (Dakota, USA) to give way under the foot (as snow does, when there is water under it)

  bawela (Tsonga, South Africa) to sink away in deep mud

  kawan (Manobo, Philippines) to walk on air above the ground (for example, when walking in the dark and groping for footing, to step and not find footing where you expected it)

  … mistaking the ground:

  péese’ov (Cheyenne, USA) to step on someone’s fingers

  trapu psa (Sranan Tongo, Surinam) to step on someone’s feet in passing

  gobray (Boro, India) to fall into a well unknowingly

  … or otherwise getting into difficulties:

  dungkal (Bikol, Philippines) to trip and fall head first

  gadngád (Tagalog, Philippines) falling on one’s nose

  kaiyotan (Dakota, USA) to fall in attempting to sit down

  ra (Tsonga, South Africa) to fall backwards on something hard

  platzen (German) to fall over and burst

  af-vegar (Old Icelandic) fallen on one’s back and unable to rise

  pipilili (Tsonga, South Africa) to fall and roll a few times before stopping

  Beard in the postbox

  Oh dear, you’re back where you started:

  nu sitter du med skagget i brevladan (Swedish) now you are stuck (literally, now you are sitting with your beard in the postbox)

  IDIOMS OF THE WORLD

  To carry coals to Newcastle

  Eulen nach Athen tragen (German) taking owls to Athens

  yezdit’ b Tulu s svoim samovarom (Russian) he’s going to Tula, taking his own samovar

  vendere ghiaccio agll eschimesi (Italian) selling ice to the Eskimos

 
echar agua al mar (Spanish) to throw water into the sea

  es como llevar naranjas a Valencia (Spanish) it is like taking oranges to Valencia

  vizet hord a Dunába (Hungarian) he is taking water to the Danube

  gi bakerbarn brød (Norwegian) to give bread to the child of a baker

  vender mel ao colmeeiro (Portuguese) to sell honey to a beemaster

  12.

  Upping Sticks

  suusan tsetsnees yavsan teneg deer (Mongolian)

  a travelling fool is better than a sitting wise persong

  You can’t spend your whole life flopping around in one place. Sooner or later, whatever traveller’s nerves you may feel, you just have to up sticks and go:

  gabkhron (Boro, India) to be afraid of witnessing an adventure

  resfeber (Swedish) to be jittery before a journey

  andlamuka (Tsonga, South Africa) to pack up and depart, especially with all one’s belongings, or to go for good

  bishu (Chinese) to be away from a hot place in the summer

  campanilismo (Italian) local pride, attachment to the vicinity (literally, bell tower-ism – referring to the fact that people do not want to travel so far as to be out of sight of the bell tower)

  Reindeer’s piss

  A journey’s a journey whether you are going near…