The Meaning of Tingo : And Other Extraordinary Words From Around the World

EDITORIAL REVIEW: **A divine gift for the word-obsessed—a deliciously eccentric world tour of words that have no English equivalent** The countless language freaks who’ve worn out their copies of *Eats, Shoots and Leaves* will find inexhaustible distraction in *The Meaning of Tingo*. Where else will they discover that Bolivians have a word that means "I was rather too drunk last night and it’s all their fault"? As for *tingo*, on Easter Island it means "to take all the objects one desires from the house of a friend, one at a time, by borrowing them." Organized by themes such as food, the human body, and sex and love, this irresistible book combs through more than 254 languages in search of those gorgeous oddities that have no direct English counterpart—words so strange and apt that if they didn’t exist, they would have to be invented. Highlights from *The Meaning of Tingo*: • **mencomet** (Indonesian): stealing things of small value such as food or drinks, partly for fun • **scheissbedauern** (German): the disappointment one feels when something turns out not nearly as badly as one had hoped • **mono-no-aware** (Japanese): appreciating the sadness of existence • **mahj** (Persian): looking beautiful after disease • **plimpplamppletteren** (Dutch): the skimming of a flat stone as many times as possible across the surface of the water • **koshatnik** (Russian): a dealer in stolen cats • **ava** (Tahitian): wife (but also means whisky) EDITORIAL REVIEW: **A divine gift for the word-obsessed—a deliciously eccentric world tour of words that have no English equivalent** The countless language freaks who’ve worn out their copies of *Eats, Shoots and Leaves* will find inexhaustible distraction in *The Meaning of Tingo*. Where else will they discover that Bolivians have a word that means "I was rather too drunk last night and it’s all their fault"? As for *tingo*, on Easter Island it means "to take all the objects one desires from the house of a friend, one at a time, by borrowing them." Organized by themes such as food, the human body, and sex and love, this irresistible book combs through more than 254 languages in search of those gorgeous oddities that have no direct English counterpart—words so strange and apt that if they didn’t exist, they would have to be invented. Highlights from *The Meaning of Tingo*: • **mencomet** (Indonesian): stealing things of small value such as food or drinks, partly for fun • **scheissbedauern** (German): the disappointment one feels when something turns out not nearly as badly as one had hoped • **mono-no-aware** (Japanese): appreciating the sadness of existence • **mahj** (Persian): looking beautiful after disease • **plimpplamppletteren** (Dutch): the skimming of a flat stone as many times as possible across the surface of the water • **koshatnik** (Russian): a dealer in stolen cats • **ava** (Tahitian): wife (but also means whisky) General,Humor,Language Arts & Disciplines,Language,Foreign Language Study,Curiosities & Wonders,Reference,Curiosities and wonders,Language Arts,Linguistics,Literacy,Linguistics - General,Miscellaneous,Lexicology,Word Lists,Language and languages,Vocabulary,Linguistics - Etymology,Etymology Did you know that in Hungary, pigs go rof-rof-rof, but in Japan they go boo boo boo? That there's apparently the need in Bolivia for a word that means'I was rather too drunk last night but it was all their fault'? Adam Jacot de Boinod's book on extraordinary words from around the world will give you the definitions and phrases you need to make friends in every culture. A true writer's resource and the perfect gift for linguists, librarians, logophiles, and international jet-setters.While there's no guarantee you'll never pana po'o again (Hawaiian for'scratch your head in order to help you remember something you've forgotten'), or mingmu (Chinese for'die without regret'), at least you'll know what tingo means, and that's a start. “A book no well-stocked bookshelf, cistern top or handbag should be without. At last we know those Eskimo words for snow and how the Dutch render the sound of Rice Krispies. Adam Jacot de Boinod has produced an absolutely delicious little book: It goes Pif! Paf! Pouf! Cric! Crac! Croc! and Knisper! Knasper! Knusper! on every page.”—Stephen Fry A garden of delights for the word obsessed: a world tour of the best of all those strange words that don't have a precise English equivalent, the ones that tell us so much about other cultures' priorities and preoccupations and expand our minds. Did you know that people in Bolivia have a word that means "I was rather too drunk last night and it's all their fault"? This collection of trivia from more than 254 languages also includes a frank discussion of exactly how many Eskimo words there are for snow. So, what in fact is "tingo"? In the Pascuense language of Easter Island, it's to take all the objects one desires from the house of a friend, one at a time, by asking to borrow them. Well, of course it is.--From publisher description A whimsical linguistic tour of foreign words and phrases that do not have precise English-language equivalents includes such entries as the world's longest-known palindrome, the Dutch rendering of the sound of Rice Krispies cereal, and the Bolivian word that means, "I was rather too drunk last night and it's all their fault." Reprint. 40,000 first printing. A garden of delights for the word obsessed, this book is a funny, amazing, and even profound world tour of the best of all those strange words that don't have a precise English equivalent, the ones that tell so much about other cultures' priorities and preoccupations