Someone who spends a lot of time reading books is known in English as a bookworm. The Hungarian and Estonian terms for such a person translates as “book moth,” and in Indonesian as “book flea” or “book louse.” In...
call centre couple n.— «For instance, the Indian consumer is changing very rapidly. We are seeing the emergence of what I call “call centre couples”—young, college-educated, stressed people. They don’t want their parents living with them...
sheetrockero n. a person who hangs drywall, also known as gypsum board or sheet rock. Also sheetroquero. Editorial Note: The book Learning Construction Spanglish includes the Spanglish verb shiroquear, meaning to “to hang drywall or...
angryphone n. a person who feels marginalized as a member of Québec’s English-speaking minority. Etymological Note: A jocular play on the word “anglophone.” (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
man-dress n. among English-speaking troops stationed in Iraq, the dishdasha (also dishdash or thobe), a long robe-like garment commonly worn by men in Arab countries. It is similar to a jellaba without a hood. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
unbwogable adj. unshakeable, unbeatable, unstoppable. Etymological Note: English un– ‘not’ + Dholuo bwogo ‘to scare’ + English —able ‘capable.’ The word was popularized by the song “Who Can Bwogo Me?” also known as...