κάργα – adverb = completely or fully I heard this on the radio when I was in Athens a few days ago. With regard to liquids, it means ‘to the brim’ as in Τα ποτήρια ήταν κάργα κρασί = The wine glasses were filled to the brim. Synonyms are φίσκα and τίγκα. By extension, it... Continue Reading →
Greek Word 13/2022
σερέτης plural σερέτηδες Continuing from GW 12/2022 σερέτης is another word that has travelled from the Arab world to Turkey and then on to Greece. Initially, I was looking for a proper noun because many of the streets near me have the names of notable Greeks: Seferis, a Nobel Prize winning poet; Tsitsanis a famous... Continue Reading →
Irish Music in Northern Greece 11/2022
We had our 7th monthly session on Sunday 8th May. It should have been our eighth, but January’s was cancelled because of an upsurge in Covid numbers. We had fewer players than usual, but I am pleased about the way it went. The music festival in Athens is turning into a three-day event. We should... Continue Reading →
Life in Northern Greece 11/2022
Sithonia is the name of the second leg of Halkidiki. The first one is called Cassandra, named not after the ill-fated Cassandra but after Cassander, a king of Macedonia, contemporary of Alexander the Great, and one of the four “successors” who divided Alexander’s territorial gains among themselves. The road from Thessaloniki to Moudania (on Cassandra)... Continue Reading →
Greek Word 12/2022
τζαναμπέτης = a difficult, awkward person. Plural τζαναμπέτηδες. It is amazing how many so-called “Turkish” loan words are actually Arabic in origin. A case in point: “rishwah” means a bribe in Arabic. I was talking to a friend who is married to a lovely Turkish lady. While discussing one or two experiences with corruption in... Continue Reading →