In Japan, if you want to order a corndog, you ask for an Amerikan doggu (アメリカンドッグ). These types of coinages are called wasei-eigo, or “Japanese-made English,” and there are lots of them. Plus, there’s an atmospheric optical...
Tricia in Cross Oaks, Texas, says that when she was a child, a family friend fondly called her a nitnoy, meaning “a small person.” U.S. soldiers picked this term in Thailand, where nit noi (นิดหน่อย) means “a little bit.”...
In Thailand, advice to the lovelorn can include a phrase that translates as “The land is not so small as a prune leaf.” It’s the same sentiment as “There are lots of fish in the sea.” This is part of a complete episode.
hi-so adj.— «Visitors to Khao San Road “are more hi-so now,” says Pattamon Yaidaeng, invoking the local term for “high society.”» —“A Hippie Haven Goes Upscale” by Newley Purnell in Bangkok, Thailand New York...
groundhopping n.— «Its called groundhopping, and even the hobby’s followers acknowledge it is a little strange.…groundhoppers ticking off matches at this year’s Asian Cup, crisscrossing the region frantically to squeeze in as many...
monkmobile n.— «A monk shows how he can collect alms and remain protected in a prototype “monkmobile,” developed to protect Buddhist monks in predominantly Muslim southern Thailand from attacks in Bangkok.» —“Armed for...