Monday, December 12, 2005

or Lost in the Translations

santa in Arabic means wart, arse in Turkish means violin bow, and purr in Scottish Gaelic means to headbutt.


From the Sydney Morning Herald's review and author profile of The Meaning of Tingo.

The Meaning of Tingo, which is shaping up to be this year's essential stocking filler. It's brilliant in its simplicity, being nothing more than a collection of odd and interesting words from around the world, such as gorrero (Spanish, Central America) meaning a person who always allows others to pay, or pu'ukaula (Hawaiian) meaning to set up one's wife as a stake in gambling, or koro (Japanese) the hysterical belief that one's penis is shrinking into one's body.

No comments: