Yesterday was March 25th, the feast of the Annunciation and the 204th anniversary of the Declaration of Greek Independence. On this day Greeks eat salted cod fried in a batter. The finished product looks like the fried fish you’ll find in any Irish or British fish & chip shop. My mother-in-law is a good source... Continue Reading →
25/006 Greek Word – επιστήμονας – scientist or smart arse
A quick one today. Saturday 15th March. Disruption once again on public transport, this time due to a Nighttime Marathon. When the buses resumed their normal itinerary, I got a seat going to IKEA. The connection for the town was full. No chance of a seat. When the middle door (I assumed it was a... Continue Reading →
25/005 Greek Word – μουντρούχος -moody, sullen, antisocial
My wife wanted me to get her something from the pharmacy, but she cautioned me against going to my usual go-to guy because he tends to offer the priciest products rather than cheaper alternatives. Instead, she urged me to go to the nearby μουντρούχα because her prices are better. The Irish writer, Hugh Leonard, opened... Continue Reading →
25/004 Greek Word – ακαταλαβίστικος
A quick one today. A word that popped up in this article https://www.iefimerida.gr/zoi/tragoydi-me-toys-akatalabistikoys-stihoys about lyrics Adriano Celentano put together in the early 70s. They were supposedly English but, in reality, they were gibberish (ασυναρτησίες). Celentano was trying to prove Italians would buy and buy into any American pop even it was total shit. It’s easy... Continue Reading →
25/003 Greek Word – πατσούρης – a person who has let himself or herself go
An insult. Babiniotis lists the feminine form, πατσούρα, as the headword, and states the following: χαρακτηρισμός για συνήθως γυναίκα μεγάλης ηλικίας με γερασμένο και χαλαρό δέρμα και ατημέλητη. Επίσης πατσούρω έγινα πατσούρα από τη βροχή – my skin shrivelled up in the rain In www.slang.gr πατσούρω is even harsher as it adds ‘ugly’ to the definition. Ιδίωμα... Continue Reading →
25/002 Greek Word – γαλλικά = swearing
When you are about to drop or have just dropped an “F Bomb” in polite company, it is not unusual to excuse yourself by saying, “Excuse my French.” In much the same way in Greek, τα γαλλικά is a foul-mouthed tirade. Babiniotis: βρισιές: “ο ποδοσφαιριστής σε έξαλλη κατάσταση άρχισε τα Γαλλικά προς τον διαιτητή” =... Continue Reading →
25/001 Greek Word – γόμος: stuffing
A seasonal word! My mother-in-law comes up with some gems that are used less nowadays. She meant the stuffing I made for the Christmas turkey. The more common word today is γέμιση. It also means the load you would put on a pack animal or a ship’s cargo. My old Crichton dictionary also suggests it’s... Continue Reading →
24/015 Greek Word καρατομώ – behead
A word that’s been in the news recently with all the fuss surrounding the dissolution of Syriza. It’s also a timely reminder of the dangers of not digging deep into etymology. I knew καρατομώ meant kill, but I assumed 1) it was in the sense of gutting someone or cutting them into little pieces, and... Continue Reading →
24/014 Greek Word σηκωτός – dragged/marched off/out/away
24th October 2024: A few days ago, a loud-mouthed, self-promoting cretin, Lidia Thorpe, hurled abuse at Charles III during his first visit to Australia as Head of State. The BBC described her as aboriginal. If Thorpe is aboriginal, then I must be from Outer Mongolia and typing this from my yurt. My guess is that... Continue Reading →
24/013 Greek Word γέφυρα – a bridge
You might well ask why I have chosen a common word that has remained more or less unaltered through the millennia. It is a false friend (faux ami) that can confuse the English speaker in one particular circumstance. Between French and English there are dozens of false friends. For example, déception and délai translate as... Continue Reading →
24/012 Greek Word απεργάζομαι – to be up to something (bad)
Whenever I see anything with the root εργ (work) in the same sentence with ex-Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras, I have a little giggle to myself. On the few occasions I have been asked to give my opinion on Tsipras, I have replied, “Είναι ένας άεργος, άνεργος ακάματης.” A workshy, unemployed lazy fuck. His whole life... Continue Reading →
24/011 Greek Word – δεντρογαλιά = Balkan whip snake
No, I’m not morphing into David Attenborough. Weever fish a few days ago and now a snake. It’s just that I hear or read words and, if they grab my attention, I post them. My mother-in-law was born in Epirus in a tiny village near the Albanian border. When we go there in the summer,... Continue Reading →
24/010 Greek Word – δράκαινα = weever fish
A Greek friend had a serious medical episode following contact with the above. The original meaning is a female dragon (δράκος), an ogress, and its dorsal spines can inflict serious pain if you accidentally tread on it. The δράκαινα lurks in shallow waters and mudbanks, making fish and human contact more probable. Why ‘weever’? Nothing... Continue Reading →
24/009 Greek Word – χειροδικώ = slap
One indicator of progress in language learning is one’s ability to produce synonyms. Greek has several words for slap. A small list of nouns and their verbs: χαστούκι χαστουκίζω σφαλιάρα σφαλιαρίζω μπάτσα μπατσίζω (μπάτσος is also slang for a policeman!) κόλαφος κολαφίζω (used mainly metaphorically) But one should never underestimate the capacity of Greek to... Continue Reading →
24/009 Greek Word – παρασάγγης/παρασάγγας
απέχω παρασάγγας (από) = to be a far cry from, to be wildly different, be miles away The παρασάγγης was a Persian unit of distance, approximately 5,243 metres according to Babiniotis. www.wiktionary.org states it was the equivalent of 30 Greek stadia or 5,554 metres - or the distance a foot soldier could be expected to... Continue Reading →
24/008 Greek Word – καρεκλοκένταυρος = a jobsworth
καρεκλοκένταυρος – a politician or civil servant determined to hold onto his or her position. Where civil servants are concerned “jobsworth” could be a reasonable translation. In it for their own good, and generally unhelpful with regard to Joe or Jo Public. As we know, in mythology the centaur had the head, torso and arms... Continue Reading →
24/007 Greek word
βίλλα/βίλλος - dick, cock in the Cypriot dialect I wonder why there are - like mainland Greek’s πούτσα/πούτσος - feminine and masculine variants. Not that I have been engaging in dick discussions with Cypriots. The word came up in a chat about football. I suppose it could be argued that the Beautiful Game has no... Continue Reading →
24/006 Greek Word – σκρολάρω to scroll (on a computer)
Another borrowing from English that is being used instead of κυλάω. Κύλιση (scrolling) is also losing out to σκρολάρισμα.
24/005 Greek Word – μπουρδουκλώνω = confuse, make a mess of, trip
In the passive (μπουρδουκλώνομαι) it means ‘trip’, often as a result of having one’s feet among cables and wiring. It’s a word that would have come handy in our last gig when six of us were occupying a small stage with instrument, mic and electric cables posing a real trip hazard.
24/004 Greek Word – κουνουπίδι = cauliflower…
24/004 Greek Word – κουνουπίδι = cauliflower… … but on overhearing two young gentlemen in conversation, I learnt that κουνουπίδι as in έγινα κουνουπίδι means “I got hammered” ie very drunk. The discussion became livelier when one of them described his inebriation as έγινα κωλοτρυπίδι, an unlisted variant of κωλοτρυπίδα (literally arsehole). The best English... Continue Reading →