I think this blog needs a reprive from pictures, lest it become a photo album. Words, too, are entertaining. I love picking up libellas about words at the library and browsing through them. A recent acquisition that I would recommend is In Other Words: A Language Lover's Guide tot he Most Intriquing Words Around the World by Christopher J. Moore.
Some of my favorites (I'm summarizing much more witty, extensive definitions. To get the full impact you'll have to find the book):
espirit de l'escalier: thinking of a smart retort just as one is leaving a party.
metro-boulot-dodo: "subway, work, sleep;" a meaningless, rote life. What we are all trying to avoid, eh?
torschlusspanik: "This word is literally translated as 'door-shutting panic' and it captures the anxisety sometimes felt by unmarried females when they see the shelf and themselves on it."
drachenfotter: Dragon fodder, or gifts offered to offended wives.
korinthenkacker: Raisin pooper, or someone whose life consists of mundane details.
krentenkakker: the Dutch for the German korinthenkacker, but evidently meaning, in this language, someone who doesn't like spending money. Evidently the Dutch expression for the German meaning of korinthenkacker is much coarser, and I won't repeat it out of consideration for Emma.
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1 comment:
I appreciate your concern for my mental purity. I live in the triborder area now so I have to put up with a lot of interesting germanicisms.
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