Janet in Tucson, Arizona, wonders about a phrase she once saw on a business card: Fortune Favors the Audacious. It’s a translation of a saying that goes back to antiquity, with many variations, including “fortune favors the brave”...
Irv in Montreal, Canada, says that in his city, English speakers will typically use the word messages where others might use errands, as in I’m going to do some messages. The oldest meaning of the word errand is “message,”...
Katya in Jacksonville, Florida, says her German-speaking parents think that when someone expresses a wish, it’s hilarious to respond with the German saying Wenn Oma Räder hätte, wäre sie ein Omnibus, which means “If Grandma had wheels...
Scott in Everett, Washington, has been trying to learn Klingon using the Goldlist Method, but he’s struggling to commit it to memory. What are some tips for learning another language, whether a conlang such as Klingon or one that evolved...
Joshua from Jacksonville, Florida, has fond memories of long dinners in Italy that left him with a sense of abbiocco, an Italian word for “that drowsy, full feeling after a satisfying meal.” The Dutch word uitbuiken means “to sit back and relax...
Mara, a student from the Democratic Republic of the Congo now studying at the University of North Alabama, thought Google Translate rendered the French for “peanut butter” as peanut leg. Instead of using it to translate the French word pâte, meaning...