When you are in the company of young people you are often exposed to new expressions. Κιούσπα was one I heard last weekend. In the context, it meant an unattractive woman. www.slang.gr says it’s chiefly used in Northern Greece in two contexts: 1) the aforementioned, and 2) bad quality heroin or marijuana. Κιούσπα also means... Continue Reading →
25/017 Greek Word – μπαφιάζω – to have had enough of something.
When my mother-in-law was asked if she was ready to leave the village and return to Thessaloniki, she said yes and added “Μπάφιασα” – I’ve had enough. It’s a synonym of μπουχτίζω, and both are more often heard in the past tense. Μπαφιάζω can mean that your μπάφιασμα is due to anything from boredom to... Continue Reading →
25/016 Greek Word – νέρντουλας
One of the books I read when I was doing my teaching diploma was Jean Aitchison’s Language Change: Progress or Decay? While Linguistic conservatives tend to decry any borrowing, I tend to sympathise with them only when there already exists a word in the home language. However, some of the “native” words are often made-up... Continue Reading →
25/014 Life in Northern Greece – Autumn is here and femicide continues.
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 →
25/012 Life in Northern Greece – Femicide
In my last post, I suggested a bar (actually a CAFÉ-ΟΥΖΕΡΙ) called Το Κάστρο might no longer host Greek musicians playing Greek music. I stopped there this morning to ask. My suspicions were correct. I sometimes address the issue of spousal abuse here in Greece. Unfortunately, I have two more to report. The more recent... Continue Reading →
25/010 Irish Music in Northern Greece: Revival?
Harat’s has contacted us. We have been invited back to do monthly gigs from September onwards. This has come as an unexpected and pleasant surprise. No mention of sessions, however. There will be complications regarding pay and social insurance, which might make playing a non-starter. So far nobody has come up with a working solution... Continue Reading →
25/011 Life in Northern Greece – Overtourism
The UN's World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) defines overtourism as “the impact of tourism on a destination that negatively affects the quality of life for residents or visitors. This impact can be environmental, economic, or sociocultural, and it's often characterized by overcrowding and strain on resources.” Let’s look at the adjectives more closely with reference to... Continue Reading →
25/010 Life in Northern Greece – Licence to be killed
Well, it arrived – eventually. I received a call to tell me if I could submit my UK licence by Wednesday, July 16th, I would receive my Greek driving licence on 17th. Trouble was it was already 16th July and I was 120km away in Halkidiki. I wanted to get it over and done with,... Continue Reading →
25/009 Irish Music in Northern Greece: Creative Aestivation
June, unfortunately, did not go to plan. Harat’s cancelled our session, I wanted to hold a session at home, but a lot of things got in the way, including my birthday, and visitors from Athens and abroad. It’s July now and, as expected, nothing is happening. I will try to wake from my θερινή νάρκη... Continue Reading →
25/011 Greek Word – καντίνα – mobile food truck or van
A borrowing from Italian. Its first meaning is similar to a work or school canteen where you can buy tea, coffee, soft drinks, sandwiches or a pie. Basically, a synonym of κυλικείο. However, it is now mainly used to refer to the mobile food/drinks van as in the picture. Hunting for Greek words can also... Continue Reading →
25/009 Life in Northern Greece
9th July 2025: I went to London on 10th June. The UK is almost completely cashless. I didn’t use any coins or notes in the 19 days I was there. And I didn’t see anyone else use cash either. Greece seems to be going the same way. Since returning on June 29th, I have used... Continue Reading →
25/008 Irish Music in Northern Greece
31st May 2025: We were scheduled to do a gig in Harat’s on Sunday, 25th May. A few days before, we were asked to bring it forward to the 24th. This was not possible, so we asked about the following weekend. Again, there was a clash with some other event. (The Champions League Final is... Continue Reading →
25/010 Greek Word – συνδαιτυμόνας = a fellow diner
A word that probably serves no useful purpose unless you want to show off the depth of your Greek vocabulary. The original root word is δαίς, which goes back to Homer, originally meant ‘feast’, ‘meat’ or ‘food’. Synonyms are ομοτράπεζος and ομόδειπνος, both more readily comprehensible if you have a good grounding in the language:... Continue Reading →
25/007 Irish Music in Northern Greece
Our second Harat’s session got underway on Sunday 11th May. The atmosphere in the pub was tremendous, but it wasn’t due to our playing. Barcelona and Real Madrid drew in the crowd. We also recorded our joint lowest number of musicians – seven of us. This is not unusual. As the weather improves, numbers tend... Continue Reading →
25/008 Life (and death) in Northern Greece
Miracles do happen. ΚΕΠ (the Centre for Public Services) has returned two of the παράβολα I submitted to get my Greek driving licence. I am due a refund of just over €100. Luke Prodromou. Luke was a well-known figure in the TEFL world, especially in Greece. In the 80s he was first one of my... Continue Reading →