vernac
adj.— «“They wanted a famous name from Mumbai to put on the marquee. I even organised that,” she said, “I got them a star performer, but they didn’t like him, said he was too vernac.” “Meaning what?” “Meaning he did serious theatre and gave interviews in Hindi and Marathi. They dumped him, and got me someone else instead.”» —“Sponsorship for the theatre of the absurd” by Kishore Singh Business Standard (India) Oct. 24, 1998. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
The English language has been greatly enriched by borrowings from the languages of Asia. Barely scratching the surface, we have from Japan skosh, tycoon, tsunami, origami, yen, kimono, futon, and karaoke. From Chinese comes yen, kowtow, gung ho, and...
Cat hair may be something you brush off, but cat hair is also a slang term that means “money.” In the same way, cat beer isn’t alcoholic — some people use cat beer as a joking term for “milk.” And imagine walking on a...