Weird and wonderful vocabulary from around the world

Adam Jacot de Boinod first became entranced by language when he discovered 27 words for “moustache” in an Albanian dictionary – and another 27 for “eyebrows”. A world of bushy machismo and stolid dignity sprang to life before his eyes. He began hanging out in second-hand bookshops, looking for foreign dictionaries and the tiny revelations contained therein. He made lists of his favourite “words with no equivalent in the English language” – like, say, tsuji-giri, a Japanese word from samurai days meaning, “to try out a new sword on a passer-by” (thanks a bunch, Toshiro), or the stoic German term Torschlusspanik, meaning “the fear of diminishing opportunities as one gets older”. —John WalshWeird and wonderful vocabulary from around the world (The Independent)

A & L Daily did my blogging for me today.

Share
Published by
Dennis G. Jerz

Recent Posts

The choreographer daughter is doing a thing.

The choreographer daughter is doing a thing.

1 day ago

So I’m starting a thing. Wish me luck. #blender3d #medieval #york #mysteryplay #corpuschristi

So I’m starting a thing. Wish me luck. #blender3d #medieval #york #mysteryplay #corpuschristi

2 days ago

No interior yet. Getting there. Gotta start somewhere. Low-poly background detail for a medieval theater project. #blender3d

No interior yet. Getting there. Gotta start somewhere. Low-poly background detail for a medieval theater…

2 days ago

This is manageable. Far better than some semesters.

This is manageable. Far better than some semesters.

3 days ago

Creating textures for background buildings in a medieval theater simulation project. I can always improve this later. #blender3d

Creating textures for background buildings in a medieval theater simulation project. I can always improve…

3 days ago

Yesterday my stack of unmarked assignments was about 120, so this is not bad.

Nothing in this stack is pressing, but they do include rough drafts of final papers,…

4 days ago