γυναικοκτονία – yinekoktonia – the killing of women: femicide, feminicide or uxoricide. A depressing choice of word chosen only because the word has been used a lot in the Greek media recently. Why? Because, in the past nine months, thirteen women have been killed by their partners or ex-partners. Of the three English words above,... Continue Reading →

τσουμπλέκι – tsubleki. A large earthenware pot. It seems to come from the Turkish çömlek Tσουμπλέκι can also refer to a style of cooking where the vessel becomes synonymous with the food that is cooked in it, much like our use of, for example, chicken casserole. In fact, there are a few mouth-watering recipes online... Continue Reading →

Δεκατιανό - dhekatiano. The clue is in the first two syllables. I started a diet a couple of weeks ago. My second meal of the day is called a δεκατιανό. For me it consists of either a yoghurt (2%) or porridge. Word Reference mistakenly translates it as ‘brunch’ (though it gives "elevenses" if you scroll... Continue Reading →

μπερμπάντης – berbandis, plural μπερμπάντηδες, from the Italian birbante. The etymology was a bit of a surprise as I was expecting it to be another Turkish loan word. At the end of last week Akis Tsochatzopoulos died. He was a huge figure in PASOK from the early 80s until the mid 90s. There were good... Continue Reading →

τζίτζικας [tzitzikas], an alternative form of τζιτζίκι = a cicada. A quick entry this week. We are currently experiencing the hottest temperatures since 1987. It’s over 40oC in some places. Getting into my car the other day reminded me of summers in Saudi Arabia. As I write, forest fires are raging around a town called... Continue Reading →

γούνα [ghouna] = fur or fur coat. From Late Latin/Early Italian gunna One of the problems of looking up a Greek word or expression is that it is like getting lost in YouTube. You want to see an excerpt from your favourite comedy or listen to a song, only for five minutes to turn into... Continue Reading →

English-speaking students of Ancient Greek often refer to the Liddell & Scott Greek-English Lexicon for help. It has just undergone a re-writing so deep and wide in scope that the editors have dropped the names of the original compilers; it is now called the Cambridge Greek Lexicon. More information can be found here: https://greekreporter.com/2021/05/27/cambridge-university-creates-monumental-new-ancient-greek-dictionary/ The... Continue Reading →

It is getting better but mobile telephony in Greece is still quite expensive. There is still no real competition as neither Wind nor Vodafone is allowed to undercut the former state-owned COSMOTE. I’m with the bad boy COSMOTE and I am a light user. To tell the truth, one thing I do like about COSMOTE... Continue Reading →

καμπάνα – (kambana) bell, bell-bottoms, a fine Obviously a borrowing from Latin, καμπάνα has several extended meanings including the flared trousers popular in the 70s, also called bell-bottoms. In an article about the biologist, Professor Sotiris Tsiodras in www.instanews.gr the writer states  “ο Σωτήρης Τσιόδρας … έκρουσε …. το καμπανάκι του κινδύνου για τον αριθμό... Continue Reading →

χουνέρι (khuneri) Another borrowing. Persian in origin but coming to Greece via Turkey. Having checked various dictionaries and online sources, I’ve found that there is little agreement on the precise definition of the word. This gives me the confidence to add my own translation. My old Crighton does not have the word. Nor does my... Continue Reading →

There were several candidates for Word of the Week, mainly words to describe a fondness for bad language: αθυροστομία, βρωμολοχία, υβρεολόγιο but the winner is another word from www.menshouse.gr άμπαλος = abalos I had difficulty working out the meaning because my first instinct was to read it as “ambalos”. Had I read it as “abalos”,... Continue Reading →

Usually, I focus on words with non-Greek roots, so-called “loan words”. Why do we call them that when we never give them back? Anyway, this week’s word is Greek through and through unless someone wants to take me to some dark corner of Indo-European historical linguistics to prove otherwise. επιστράτευση – epistratefsi = mobilization. The... Continue Reading →

μανούλα = mummy, but… From 6am today, 4th March 2021, the Greek government further tightened the restrictions already in place. Schools are closed again. If you want to go out, you have to send a text to 13033 and enter a number between 1 and 6, your name and address. The numbers are code for... Continue Reading →

λαμαρίνα = sheet metal. Though the dictionaries don’t tell you, λαμαρίνα also refers to the bodywork of a car. Most of the words I choose tend to be words that I have heard. Λαμαρίνα is one of the few exceptions. I was watching a Norwegian series called ‘Accused’. As the series was on Nova on... Continue Reading →

παρενόχληση (parenokhlisi) = harassment, especially σεξουαλική παρενόχληση, sexual harassment. Making a change from the stressful boredom of endless Corona updates and scaremongering about new strains and mutations, the “Me Too” movement has finally arrived in Greece. It began around two weeks ago when a female athlete accused her former trainer of abuse. By the end... Continue Reading →

μπουρλότο – burloto, literally a fireship, a small vessel loaded with explosives and/or combustible materials sent towards an enemy ship in order to destroy it. Maybe it comes from the French brûlot. (The switching of the “r” like fromage and formaggio in French and Italian respectively, is called rhotic metathesis.) Amusingly, in what must have... Continue Reading →

καριόλης/καριόλα kariolis (man), kariola (woman) “Κανένας κα ριόλλης απο αυτούς που κανόνισαν αυτή την συγκέντρωση θα πάει ΦΥΛΑΚΗ!!!!!!! ΓΑ ΜΗ ΜΕ ΝΟΙ!!!!!!!!” If we employ certain words on a post, sensors kick into action followed by censors banning our posts. Which is why we employ tricks like sh!t or f@ck to get round any potential... Continue Reading →

ποστάρω (postaro) = post something online My word of the week is loosely connected with my post on this year’s Epiphany. I mentioned a tweet posted by Professor Dermitzakis. The headline said: “Ο Δερμιτζάκης πόσταρε δύο φωτογραφίες…” = “Dermitzakis has posted two photographs…” I was taken aback by the verb ποστάρω because I thought the... Continue Reading →

A few days ago I made a mess of the two doors on the driver’s side of my car. Bollard 1 Car 0. I took it to the dealer who quoted a price not much lower than the car’s current value. My neighbour told me I should take it to the nearby φαναρτζή. I replied... Continue Reading →

φράγκο = franc, nowadays more generally money, especially in certain expressions. After Alexander, Greece suffered many invasions. First it was the Romans (οι Ρωμαίοι), then the Franks (οι Φράγκοι), Venetians (οι Ενετοί or οι Βενετοί) and Turks (οι Τούρκοι); and their periods of rule in Greece are called η Φραγκοκρατία, η Ενετοκρατία and η Τουρκοκρατία... Continue Reading →