The temperature has dropped and it’s raining. I think we can kiss summer goodbye. The one-a-month femicide average is not abating. Earlier this month in our fair city, a brother strangled his older half-sister with a supermarket plastic bag. I say ‘strangled’ and not ‘suffocated’ because he did not put the bag over the victim’s... Continue Reading →
25/015 Greek Word – τσαλαπετεινός
A new addition to the domestic insult list. As I emerged from the bedroom this morning, the woman of the house took one look at my hair and called me a τσαλαπετεινός, the Eurasian hoopoe. At least, the insults are getting more exotic. A combination of τσαλί (çalı in Turkish, a kind of dry grass used... Continue Reading →
25/013 Life in Northern Greece – In the land of Pyrrhus
A complete change of scene. Every summer we take the mother-in-law to her native village. In recent years, due to her age, she has been spending less and less time there, but this year she stayed for seven weeks. It is literally at the end of the road, a stone’s throw from Albania. From the... Continue Reading →
25/014 Greek Word – παστρικιά – a whore or prostitute
An unusual one. How does one get from παστρικός (scrupulously clean) to παστρικιά? πάστρα = καθαριότητα. Παστρεύω = to clean, especially with a brush made of a tough reed or grass called σπάρτο (esparto grass?). OK, we’re still miles away from whore. Παστρικός, as we have said, means very clean. By the nature of their... Continue Reading →
25/013 Greek Word – καλλωπίζω – to spruce up, to beautify
Aimed at me, and not as a compliment. A few days ago before going for a shower, I decided to trim the beard and treat my face to L’Oreal Men Expert Deep Exfoliating Wash Anti-Blocked Pores plus L’Oreal Men Expert Black Charcoal Wash Multi-Action Purifier. OK, I overdid it. With the charcoal I looked like... Continue Reading →
25/012 Greek Word – Ανωτέρα Βία – unforeseen circumstances
Note the stress is on the third syllable. My bilingual dictionaries translate it as “Act of God” and/or “force majeure”. Babiniotis reduces the drama by giving the first definition thus: “ο παράγοντας (συνήθ απρόβλεπτος) που προβάλλει ανυπέρβλητα εμπόδια, ανατρέπει σχέδια, προγράμματα…” In other words, “unforeseen circumstances”. I knew the Act of God meaning, so I... Continue Reading →