A translation blip means obligatory chocolate for Japanese men on Valentine’s Day
Since the 1950s, Japanese women have showered the men in their lives with chocolatey gifts on Valentine’s Day, and all because of a tiny translation error made by a Japanese chocolate executive with a zest for Western traditions amidst post-war economic difficulties in Japan. The Japanese Valentine’s Day Tradition explained… When a Japanese woman wants […]
Don’t be a nincompoop!
British English is full of fun and fanciful terms. The phrase, “Don’t be a nincompoop!” is just one prime example. Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net “Nincompoop,” meaning fool or idiot, was traced back to its first usage in the 1670s by Jonson in his Dictionary of 1755. He believed the word to have come from the […]
Where does the word Christmas come from?
“Christmas” is an Old English word, constructed from the combination of two words, namely “Christ” and “Mass”. The first recorded Old English version of the phrase, “Crīstesmæsse,” dates back to 1038, but by the Middle Ages the term had already morphed into “Cristemasse;” a slightly more modern version of the phrase. The origins The two […]
Origin of “It Takes Two to Tango”
The tango is a popular dance in which two partners move in relation to each other. Tango is always danced in couples, and both parts are essential. “It takes two to tango” is a common idiomatic expression inspired in this intrinsic partnership and is used to describe a situation in which more than one person […]
Origin of the Word “Futon”
Futons have become an ordinary furniture piece and it is very likely that you are reading this article comfortably seated on one. But, have you ever wondered about the etymological origin of the word? Japanese Origin English (as well as Spanish) borrowed the word from the Japanese and the Chinese, and it means “round cushions […]
The Origin of the Word Chévere
If you have had the chance of spending some time in Venezuela, or Cuba or in any other Caribbean country or if you have watched any Venezuelan soap opera on TV, there are great chances that you have heard at least once the word chévere (meaning good, cool). And in fact it is quite likely […]
`Mina´: One of the Most Popular Words in Lunfardo
If you ever spend a couple of days in Buenos Aires or Montevideo, there are great chances that you will hear at least once the word mina in a conversation and, needless to say, without referring to any kind of military device or to the place where precious metals are extracted. What kind of mina […]
Unveiling the origins of the word “tango”
There is no doubt at all that Argentina, and especially the city of Buenos Aires, are immediately identified with the tango. Since the 1920’s, the tango has been considered one of the most popular and sensual dances in the world and, as years go by, passion for it has grown not only in the River […]
The meaning of ‘junar’
Argentine Spanish is strewn with words and colorful phrases from Lunfardo, a rich vocabulary born on the streets of Buenos Aires in the second half of the 19th century. Now considered a fixture of the Spanish language in Argentina (especially in and around Buenos Aires) and Uruguay, linguists cite the use of Lunfardo as a […]
The origin of “troll”
For most English speakers, the word troll, out of context, most commonly registers as a noun, perhaps due to the striking imagery it elicits. Cue short, hideous monster-men hiding under a bridge, waiting to capture unknowing passersby. The horror of this imagery is no doubt why the word most strikes us in this manner—as a […]
