The medical term tragomaschalia means “smelly armpit sweat,” and derives from Greek words that mean “goat armpit.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Tragomaschalia” I came across a medical term...
A man who’s not so handy with computers described himself not as a technophobe, but as a technophyte — a misapprehension of the components of the term neophyte, a word stemming from Greek words meaning “newly planted.” This is part...
In English, the expression keep your eyes peeled means “pay close attention” or “be on the lookout.” In modern Greek, the equivalent is ta matia sou dekatessera, literally, “your eyes fourteen.” In Greece today...
If someone feigns ignorance, a Greek might describe him with an expression that translates as “he pretends to be a duck.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Pretend to be a Duck, in Greek” Another bit of Greek...
In modern Greek, if you want to say something is “fantastic,” “out of this world,” or otherwise “terrific,” you can say den iparchei!, which literally means “It doesn’t exist!” This is part of a...
Spondulix, also spelled spondulicks and spondolux, is a slang term for money. Mark Twain used it in Huckleberry Finn, although it had been around for a while before that. The word may derive from the Greek word spondylos, meaning “vertebra” or...