butu
n.— «Whichever of these two political parties form the next government, Jamaica would have lost because they have clearly demonstrated an unwillingness and inability to stop political violence. We, Jamaicans, will therefore continue to be ridiculed by other Caribbean nationals and peoples of the world who consider us barbarians or as we say in Jamaica parlance “butu.”» —“Political propaganda on the hustings?” by Carlos King Jamaica Gleaner (Kingston) July 24, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
A North Carolina listener remembers that when she happened to predict things that later came true, her mother would say she had a goat’s mouth. Among other places, oi most of the islands in the Caribbean and also on the island of Mauritius, sayings...
June in Miami, Florida, says every time she hears the name of this show, she’s reminded of a story that involves the tradition of fruit-filled Easter buns in her native Jamaica. She’d put hers on a windowsill at work, but at some point when she left...