Who is Boo-Boo the Fool? A listener wonders if this African-American character has any relation the Puerto Rican fool, Juan Bobo. Martha draws a connection to the Spanish term bobo, meaning “fool,” and its Latin root balbus, meaning “stammerer.” The...
Are we a nosy species? A listener married to a woman from Bangladesh explains how a Bengali term that translates as “nose-going” reflects the naturally inquisitive style of Bangladeshi culture. In many languages, the nose figures prominently in...
If you say to someone the Spanish equivalent of “you’re giving me green gray hairs” (me sacas canas verdes), it means that person is making you angry. In Japan, the phrase that literally translates as “one red dot” refers metaphorically to “the lone...
What do you call the end piece of a loaf of bread? Names for that last slice include heel, bread butt, kissing crust, bunce, skirk, krunka, truna, tumpee, canust, the nose, and in Spanish, codo, which means “elbow.” This is part of a complete...
In Spanish and French, if you have the equivalent of “a white night,” it means you didn’t get much sleep. In Sweden, if you have a “white week,” it means you didn’t drink a drop of alcohol. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “White...
A listener shares a phrase he learned in Peru that translates as “more lost than a hard-boiled egg in ceviche.” It describes someone who’s lost or clueless. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Hard-Boiled Egg in Ceviche” Sean O’Connor...
