Why would Germans accuse you of being like the donkey getting cross with a rabbit? Who would a Spaniard tell to go and fry asparagus? And when might the French claim they are without a radish?
Furthering your knowledge of the world's unusual idioms, Toujours Tingo will also explain how ordering 'lamb' in Ethiopia may see a cow delivered to your table, and how politicians in Sweden may be encouraged occasionally to goera en hel Pudel ('do a full poodle') with some humble apologising. Covering such wide-ranging linguistic necessities as arguing, raising children, working and dining out, and filling all those gaps that English leaves thoughtlessly unplugged, this book's charm would - for Russians at least - be eziku ponjatno (obvious even to a hedgehog).
Sprache
Verlagsort
Dateigröße
ISBN-13
978-0-14-191919-5 (9780141919195)
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Schweitzer Klassifikation
Adam Jacot de Boinod's interest in foreign languages was first aroused when doing research for the BBC programme QI and subsequently developed into a full-on vokabulyu (Russian - passion for foreign words). While searching through 280 dictionaries, 140 websites and numerous books on language, he developed an undoubted samlermani (Danish - mania for collecting), became close to being fisselig (German - flustered to the point of incompetence) and narrowly avoided karoshi (Japanese - death from overwork). He is now intending to nglayap (Indonesian - wander far from home with no particular purpose).
