μπάκα = a big belly, a paunch, a beer gut The word is of Albanian origin. A report in www.iefimerida.gr included a clip of a well-known TV presenter making fun of the tennis skills of Adonis Georgiadis, Minister of Development and Investment. The ‘development’ under discussion was Georgiadis's waistline. However, Georgiadis, not noted for his... Continue Reading →
Irish Music in Northern Greece 19/2022
On Tuesday 20th September, five of us plus our injured guitarist met in the Dirty Glass. The previous practice was intended as a run-through of new items for the monthly session in the Dubliner. This practice was more band oriented and more organised in that it was our first effort in a while during which... Continue Reading →
Greek Word 24/2022
μπουρδολόγος - a bullshitter from μπούρδες = nonsense, bullshit, hogwash. Most often μπούρδες is used in the plural, though there is a singular noun: μπούρδα. Babiniotis says it comes from the French ‘bourde’, which he translates as ανοησία and βλακεία, both synonyms of μπούρδα. However, I’m not completely convinced. ‘Bourde’ in French means a lie... Continue Reading →
Life in Northern Greece 22/22
Neighbours – can’t live with them but can definitely thrive without them. Greeks tend to be very family oriented. In the 20-odd years I have been in this block of flats, I have never been invited to a neighbour’s flat. In fairness, I haven’t invited any of them either. But that seems to be the... Continue Reading →
Irish Music in Northern Greece 18/2022
Our monthly sessions resumed yesterday, 11th September, after our break in August. There was a fair bit of new material in the playlist, but we coped very well. Some of the musicians brought friends and family to the pub – a captive audience – but we also went down well with a group of Russians... Continue Reading →
Life in Northern Greece 21/22
In an earlier post I said summer had arrived on schedule. It now looks as if autumn is trying to match its predecessor on punctuality. The second day of September witnessed a fall in temperature and severe rainstorms. Today (4th September) the weather is beautiful but noticeably cooler. In the wee hours of this morning... Continue Reading →
Greek Word 23/2022
κατσικώνομαι = overstay one’s welcome Despite the size and weight of Babiniotis’ dictionary, there are some omissions that seem to suggest there might be problems with the corpus or database. However, in fairness to the renowned lexicographer, I must point out that Word highlights κατσικώνομαι as being incorrect. In times of need, where do you... Continue Reading →
Irish Music in Northern Greece 17/2022
Yesterday we assembled at the Dirty Glass to shake off the summer torpor and prepare for this Sunday’s session. And we were rusty!Fortunately, as only a few practice items were chosen, we had time to repeat them and pick up speed. Present were Vasilis (guitar), Petros (injured guitarist), Giannis (accordion), Gregory (standard & low whistles),... Continue Reading →
Greek Word 22/2022
Apologies in advance for the irregular font sizes: Θωπεύω: 1) caress or stroke; 2) to flatter A strange word that I have never heard anyone say. I came across it years ago and promptly forget the meaning. Then – after decades - I read it recently, only to see it once again a few days.... Continue Reading →