kabaddi (Pakistan) a game where players take it in turn to hold their breath
bakpi (Ulwa, Nicaragua) a game in which one is swung round in circles until dizzy
cnapan (Welsh) a game where each side tries to drive a wooden ball as far as possible in one direction
kula’i wawae (Hawaiian) the pushing of one’s feet against others while seated
kaengurustylte (Danish) a pogo stick (literally, kangaroo stilt)
Frozen walrus carcass
There are games that are highly specific to their culture and environment, such as the Inuit igunaujannguaq, which literally means frozen walrus carcass. This is a game where the person in the centre tries to remain stiff and is held in place by the feet of the people who are sitting in a circle. He is passed around the ring, hand over hand. Whoever drops him is the next ‘frozen walrus carcass’.
Honing your skills
As we grow up, what we look for in a game becomes increasingly challenging:
shash-andaz (Persian) someone who tries to juggle with six balls so that four are always in the air
antyaksari (Hindi) a pastime in which participants recite verses in turn, the first word of each new verse being the same as the last of the preceding one
kipapa (Hawaiian) to balance on top of a surfboard
waterponie (Afrikaans) a jet ski
elastikspring (Danish) bungee jumping
The beautiful game
One game in particular has achieved international pre-eminence, and a range of closely observed terms to describe it:
armario (Spanish) an awkward or unskilled player (literally, a wardrobe)
wayra jayt’a (Quechuan, Peru) a poor player (literally, an air kicker)
cazar (Spanish) to kick one’s opponent and not the ball
ariete (Spanish) a battering ram (centre forward)
verkac (Turkish) passing and running
baile, danze (Spanish) and
melina (Italian) two players on the same team kicking the ball back and forth to kill time
roligan (Danish) a non-violent supporter
Taking a punt
Sometimes, fun is not enough; chance or expertise has to be made more exciting by speculation:
yetu (Tulu, India) gambling in which a coin is tossed and a bet laid as to which side it will fall on
quiniela (Spanish, USA) a form of betting in which the punter must choose the first and second-place winners in a race, though not necessarily in the correct order
parani (Cook Islands Maori) to put up a stake at poker without examining one’s cards
The moral perhaps being that it’s better to be the Persian kuz-baz, one who lends money to gamblers, than a mukhtir, one who risks his property in gambling.
Fingers crossed
Some people are born lechero, a Latin American Spanish word for lucky, literally meaning a milkman. Others may be less fortunate:
smolař (Czech) a person dogged by bad luck
apes (Indonesian) to have double bad luck
kualat (Indonesian) to be bound to have bad luck as a result of behaving badly
Break a leg
It’s intriguing that wishing people good luck often takes the form of willing ill fortune on them. The German Hals und Beinbruch, for example, takes the spirit of the English expression ‘break a leg’ and goes one step further – it translates as ‘break your neck and a leg’. The Italians offer an even more gruesome prospect: the cheery wish in bocca al lupo means ‘into the mouth of the wolf’.
The competitive streak
Everyone likes to win, but the methods employed to get ahead range from the inventive to the underhand:
chupar rueda (Spanish) running or cycling behind another to benefit from reduced wind resistance (literally, to suck wheel)
kunodesme (Ancient Greek) tying a string round the foreskin to stop the penis getting in the way during athletics (literally, putting the dog on a lead)
sirind (Persian) entangling legs in wrestling to trip your opponent (also a noose for catching prey by the foot)
poki (Cook Islands Maori) to deal cards from the bottom of the pack (i.e. unfairly)
False friends
boghandel (Danish) bookshop
rain (Arabic) viewer, spectator
arse (Turkish) violin bow
jerk (French) praise for an accomplished dancer
pensel (Swedish) paintbrush
catch (French) all-in wrestling
Crooning
For those without sporting interest or prowess, entertainment can be found in the realms of music …
iorram (Scottish Gaelic) a rowing song
dizlanmak (Turkish) to keep humming to yourself
Ohrwurm (German) a catchy tune that gets stuck in the brain or rapidly obsesses an entire population (literally, an ear worm)
ngak-ngik-ngok (Indonesian) a derogatory reference to the popularity of rock music in the 1960s (which was much despised by the late President Sukarno)
Twirling
… or of dancing
raspar canillas (Spanish, Central America) to dance (literally, to scrape shins)
zapateado (Spanish) the fast footwork and stamping feet used in dancing
mbuki-mvuki (Bantu, Zaire) to take off one’s clothes in order to dance
Ball paradox (German) a ball at which women ask men to dance
verbunkos (Hungarian) a dance performed to persuade people to enlist in the army
Clubbing
The Italians helpfully differentiate between the staff outside and inside a night club: the buttadentro, the one who throws you in, is the person in charge of choosing who gets through the door; while the buttafuori, the one who throws you out, is the bouncer.
Channel surfing
For those who prefer to stay at home, there’s always the television, or Pantoffelkino (slippers cinema), as it’s described in German. The Romani language of the Gypsies takes a rather sterner view, regarding it as a dinnilos-dicking-muktar, or fool’s looking-box. Those with extra channels seem to be viewed as a cut-above in France, where cablé has now acquired the secondary sense of ‘hip and trendy’.
Hi-tech
Having invented numerous machines to give us free time, we now struggle to come up with others to help fill it:
tamagotchi (Japanese) a lovable egg (an electronic device which copies the demands for food or attention of a pet)
khali khukweni (Zulu) a mobile phone (literally, to make a noise in the pocket)
dingdong (Indonesian) computer games in an arcade
toelva (Icelandic) a computer (formed from the words for digit and prophetess)
xiaoxia (Chinese) small lobsters (new internet users)
The arts
There are some pastimes that are elevated, by their practitioners and admirers, onto an altogether higher plane:
sprezzatura (Italian) the effortless technique of a great artist
wabi (Japanese) a flawed detail that enhances the elegance of the whole work of art
ostranenie (Russian) the process by which art makes familiar perceptions seem strange
Verfremdungseffekt (German) a dramatic technique that encourages the audience to preserve a sense of critical detachment from a play (literally, an alienating effect)
Philistines
Those who aren’t impressed by artistic claims have coined a different vocabulary:
megillah (Yiddish) an unnecessarily long and tiresome story or letter
de pacotilla (Spanish) a third-rate writer or actor
Rolling up
In our health-conscious world, can smoking still be regarded as recreation?
segatura (Italian) a cigarette made by mixing cigarette butts (literally, sawdust)
bakwe (Kapampangan, Philippines) to smoke a cigarette with the lit end in the mouth
nakurit’sya (Russian) to smoke to one’s heart’s content
zakurit’sya (Russian) to make oneself ill by excessive smoking
On reflection
Married
in a brothel
Some words must remain a mystery to all except native speakers. You would have had to have lived in these places for quite a while to understand how to use correctly some of the following, which in their simply translated definitions contain what seem to us contradictory meanings:
hay kulu (Zarma, Nigeria) anything, nothing and also everything
irpadake (Tulu, India) ripe and unripe
sitoshna (Tulu, India) cold and hot
merripen (Romani, Gypsy) life and death
gift (Norwegian) poison and married
magazinshchik (Russian) a shopkeeper and a shoplifter
danh t (Vietnamese) a church and a brothel
aloha (Hawaiian) hello and goodbye (the word has many other meanings including love, compassion, welcome and good wishes)
Eating and Drinking
olcsó húsnak híg a leve (Hungarian)
cheap meat produces thin gravy
Hunting, shooting …
In many parts of the world putting together a meal isn’t always simply a matter of making a quick trip to the local supermarket:
ortektes (Khakas, Siberia) to hunt together for ducks
geragai (Malay) a hook for catching crocodiles
sumpit (Malay) to shoot with a blowpipe
tu’utu’u (Rapa Nui, Easter Island) to hit the mark time and again (shooting with arrows)
ajawy (Wayampi, Brazil) to hit the wrong target
… and fishing
Fishing can be equally labour-intensive:
ta’iti (Cook Islands Maori) to catch fish by encircling a rock with a net and frightening them out
kapau’u (Hawaiian) to drive fish into a waiting net by splashing or striking the water with a leafy branch
lihnaka inska wauhwaia (Ulwa, Nicaragua) to slap the water and cause the fish to jump into a boat
nono (Rapa Nui, Easter Island) fish thrown onto the beach by the waves or which jump out of the water into a boat
kusyad (Persian) hard black stone thrown into the water to attract fish
fiskevaer (Norwegian) good weather for fishing
ah chamseyah chay (Chorti, Guatemala) someone who fishes with dynamite
pau heoheo (Hawaiian) a person who returns from fishing without any fish
Global gastronomy
When it comes to the extraordinary things that people around the world enjoy putting in their mouths, it’s certainly true that one man’s meat is another man’s poison:
ptsha (Yiddish) cow’s feet in jelly
poronkieli (Finnish) reindeer tongue
kokorec (Turkish) roasted sheep’s intestines
nama-uni (Japanese) raw sea urchin
Beuschel (German) stewed calves’ lungs
acitron (Mexican Spanish) candied cactus
somad (Sherpa, Nepal) cheese that is old and smelly
calimocho (Spanish) a combination of Coca-Cola and red wine
Gummiadler (German) tough roast chicken (literally, rubber eagle)
marilopotes (Ancient Greek) a gulper of coal dust
ampo (Malay) edible earth
Menu envy
In some cases, though, it’s the unfamiliar word rather than the food itself that may alarm the outsider:
flab (Gaelic) a mushroom
moron (Welsh) a carrot
aardappel (Dutch) a potato (literally, earth apple)
bikini (Spanish) a toasted ham and cheese sandwich
gureepufuruutsu (Japanese) a grapefruit
Can’t cook …
We all know the benefits of lumur (Malay), smearing ingredients with fat during cooking. But even that doesn’t always prevent kanzo (Hausa, Nigeria), burnt food stuck to the bottom of the pot. Perhaps it would help to know the right moment for nisar-qararat (Persian), cold water poured into a pot to stop it getting burnt. The only failsafe way of escaping this is to buy your food boli boli (Aukan, Suriname) – already cooked.
Bon appetit
Now we’re ready to eat …
protintheuo (Ancient Greek) to pick out the dainty bits beforehand, to help oneself first
muka (Hawaiian) a smacking sound with the lips, indicating that the food is tasty
pakupaku (Japanese) to eat in big mouthfuls or take quick bites
parmaklamak (Turkish) to eat with one’s fingers
sikkiwok (Inuit) to drink with your chin in the water
nusarat (Persian) crumbs falling from a table which are picked up and eaten as an act of piety
Boring food
The Japanese are emphatic about how dull food can be: suna o kamu yo na means ‘like chewing sand’. They even have an evocative term for rehashed food: nibansenji, meaning ‘brewing tea for the second time using the same tea-leaves’.
Cupboard love
Those who have food on the table will always be popular:
giomlaireachd (Scottish Gaelic) the habit of dropping in at meal times
aimerpok (Inuit) to visit expecting to receive food
luqma-shumar (Persian) one who attends feasts uninvited and counts the number of mouthfuls
Snap, crackle, pop!
Is it the way they hear it? Or is it simply what sells the product? The sound of Rice Crispies crackling and popping is very different across Europe:
French: Cric! Crac! Croc!
German: Knisper! Knasper! Knusper!
Spanish: Cris! Cras! Cros!
Rice
In Japan, gohan (literally, honourable food) comes in a bowl and means rice that is ready for eating. But it’s also a general name for rice and even extends in meaning to ‘meal’. At the other end of the spectrum is okoge, which is the scorched rice stuck on the bottom of the pan.
False friends
prune (French) plum
gin (Phrygian, Turkey) to dry out
korn (Swedish) barley
sik (Ukrainian) juice
glass (Swedish) ice cream
prick (Thai) pepper
chew (Amharic, Ethiopia) salt
Hawaiian bananas
Hawaii’s traditional cuisine is based on quite a restricted list of ingredients: fish (there are 65 words alone for describing fishing nets), sweet potato (108 words), sugarcane (42) and bananas (47). The following are among the most descriptive words for this fruit:
mai’a kaua lau a banana, dark green when young, and yellow and waxy when mature
kapule a banana hanging until its skin has black spots
palaku a thoroughly ripe banana
maui to wring the stem of a bunch of bananas to cause it to ripen
pola the hanging down of the blossom of a banana palm or a bunch of bananas
halane a large bunch of bananas
hua’alua a double bunch of bananas
manila a banana tree not used for fruit but for rope fibre
lele a tall wild banana placed near the altar, offered to the gods and also used for love magic
Replete
As the meal enters its final stages, a sense of well-being descends on the diner – unless, of course, you’re suffering from bersat (Malay), food that has gone down the wrong way …
uitbuiken (Dutch) to take your time at dinner, relaxing between courses (literally, the expansion of the stomach)
nakkele (Tulu, India) a man who licks whatever the food has been served on
slappare (Italian) to eat everything, even to the point of licking the plate
’akapu’aki’aki (Cook Islands Maori) to belch repeatedly
Post-prandial
After it’s all over, what are you left with?
femlans (Ullans, Northern Ireland) the remains of a meal
sunasorpok (Inuit) to eat the remains of others’ food
shitta (Persian) food left at night and eaten in the morning
Food poisoning
Visitors to Easter Island would be advised to distinguish between the Rapa Nui words hakahana (leaving cooked food for another day) and kai hakahana (food from the previous day that is starting to rot).
Hunger
Food cannot always be taken for granted. Homowo is a Ghanaian word that means ‘hooting at hunger’. Local oral tradition recalls a distant past when the rains failed and there was a terrible famine on the Accra Plains, the home of the Ga people. When a good harvest finally came and there was more than enough to eat once again, the Ghanaians celebrated by holding a festival, still celebrated to this day, that ridiculed hunger.
Daily Bread
Food often figures in colloquial sayings and proverbs, as this selection from Spain shows:
quien con hambre se acuesta con pan suena whoever goes to bed hungry dreams of bread (to have a bee in one’s bonnet)
agua fría y pan caliente, nunca hicieron buen vientre cold water and hot bread never made a good belly (oil and water never mix)
pan tierno y leña verde, la casa pierde fresh bread and green firewood lose the house (two wrongs do not make a right)
vale bolillo it’s worth a piece of bread (it doesn’t matter)
con su pan se lo coma may he eat it with bread (good luck to him)
Quenched
After all this talk of food and eating, it’s hard not to feel thirsty:
I Never Knew There Was a Word For It Page 7
