Category: Words and phrases

Potatoes from the same furrow

By Simon

I discovered an interesting Welsh expression today – maen nhw’n datws o’r un rhych (‘they’re potatoes from the same furrow’), which is one equivalent of saying that they are as thick as thieves, i.e. they are close friends. Other Welsh equivalents of this expression include maen nhw’n gryn lawiau (‘they’re pretty (?) hands’); maen nhw’n yng nghegau ei gilydd (‘they’re in mouths together’); and maen nhw’n drwyn wrth drwyn (‘they’re nose to nose’).

In French the equivalent of this phrase is comme larrons en foire (‘like thieves in (a) fair’) – the word larron is a old word for thief – the usual word is voleur.

What about in other languages?

Les mot de la semaine

By Simon

– un compte courant = current account = cyfrif cyfredol = kont-red
– un compte d’épargne / de dépôt = savings account = cyfrif cynilion = kont-espern
– l’épargne, l’économie = savings = cynilion = arboell
– économiser = to save (money) = cynilo; arbed = armerzhañ
– l’intérêt (m) = interest = llog = laz
– le taux d’intérêt = interest rate = cyfradd llog = feur kampi
– l’assurance-vie (f) = life insurance = yswiriant bywyd = asurañs war ar vuhez
– les nouveaux visages (m); de nouvelles têtes (f) = new faces = gwynebau newydd = pennoù nevez
– retenir son souffle = to hold one’s breath (lit/fig) = dal dy wynt
– concorder = to fit (facts) = cytuno (efo ffeithiau)
– poseur (de tapis) = (carpet) fitter; poseur = fittiwr (carpedi)
– le pépin = glitch, snag, hitch; pip; umbrella = rhwystr; dincodyn; ymbarél = skoilh; disglavier
– greffer = to graft = impio = imboudañ

Slugs and snails and owls

By Simon

Here some of the words that came up this week at the polyglot conversation group, along with a few related words and expressions.

Kernewek
bulhorn = snail
gluthvelhwenn; melhwenn = slug
kowann; oula = owl
mordardha = to surf
modardh = surf

Cymraeg
malwoden; malwen (malwod, pl) = snail
gwlithen; malwen ddu = slug
tylluan; gwdihŵ = owl
brigdonni; brigo tonnau; reidio tonnau; syrffio = to surf
pori = to surf (the web)
brigdonnwr; brigwr tonnau; syrffiwr = surfer
ewyn môr; brig y don; ewyn y don = surf
talp = nugget, chunk, lump, byte
cnepyn = nugget, nodule, lump, pommel
gwrthrychedd; gwrthrycholdeb = objectivity

Brezhoneg
melc’houed; melc’hwed; mailgorn; melc’houedenn-grogennek = snail
melc’houed; melc’hwedenn; likoch = slug
penn-kazh; toud; korverig = owl

Français
doué(e); de talent = talented
avoir du talent = to be talented
un musicien de talent = a talented musician
aux talents multiples = multi-talented
avoir plusieurs cordes à son arc = to have many tricks up one’s sleeve (be multi-talented)
elle est extrêmement douée = she is extremely talented
l’escargot (f) = snail
la limace = slug
le hibou; la chouettte = owl

Deutsch
die Streichholzschachtel = matchbox
der Streichholzschächtelchen = little matchbox
die Schnecke = snail
das Schneckengehäuse = snail shell
die Nacktschnecke = slug (“naked snail”)
die Eule = owl

Bulhorn

By Simon

The subject of snails came up this week at the polyglot conversation group and I discovered that the Cornish word for snail is bulhorn /ˈbʊl.hɔɾn/ (pl. bulhornes), which I particularly like, and which conjures up images of bullhorn (megaphone) wielding snails.

We were also talking about slugs and didn’t know the Cornish or Welsh words for them. I suggested malwoden heb dŷ (“a snail without a house”) or malwoden digatref (“a homeless snail”) in Welsh, and bulhorn heb chy (“snail without a house”) was suggested for the Cornish version. I now know that a Welsh slug is a gwlithen or a malwen ddu (“black snail”) and that a Cornish slug is a gluthvelhwenn or a melhwenn. The gwlith and gluth in these words, which mean dew.

I later discovered that the German word for snail is Schnecke – isn’t that a great sound? Definitely a cellar door word for me. A German slug is a Nacktschnecke or “naked snail”.

Skinwel

By Simon

When I learnt that the Breton word for television is skinwel, I wondered where it came from. Today I think I’ve found the answer (via TermOfis) – skin means ray, and appears in words such as:

– skinek = radiant
– skinad = radiation
– skinañ = to radiate, shine, beam
– skinforn = microwave oven (“ray oven”)
– skin an Heol = sunbeam (“ray of the sun”)
– skingomz = radio (“ray talk”)
– skingaser = transmitter (“ray messenger”)
– skindommerez = radiator (“ray heater”)
– skinlun = x-ray (“ray picture”)

The wel part comes from gwel (view, sight, vision), I think, and appears in such words as:

– gwelus = visible
– gwelet = to see, look

I find it interesting when new words like this are invented for modern inventions, rather than just borrowing international terms like television, telephone and radio. Other examples in Breton include pellgomz = telephone (“far talk”) and urzhiataer = computer (“order-er”). Such words may not be used in everyday speech, but I think it’s nice to know that they exist.

Can you think of examples in other languages?

Les mots de la semaine

By Simon

– une torche flambeau = flaming torch = ffagl = torch flamboz
– une lampe de poche = (pocket) torch = tortsh = kreuzeul
– en pincer pour qn = to carry a torch for sb = caru rhywun (o bell) yn ofer
– au point = in focus = mewn ffocws, yn eglur = en e reizh
– pas au point = out of focus = aneglur, allan ohoni
– mettre au point = to focus = canoli, ffocysu = fokusañ
– agité(e) = rough (sea) = garw, stormus, tymhestlog, tonnog = rust
– négociant, marchand = merchant = masnachwr = marc’hadour
– la télécommande = remote control = teclyn pell-reolaeth = pellurzhier
– le cireur de chaussures = shoeshiner = glanhäwr esgidiau
– mendiant = beggar = cardotyn, cardotwr = klasker
– s’entendre avec qn = to get on with sb = cyd-dynnu’n dda gyda rhywun = en em glevet
– le respect de soi, l’amour-propre (m) = self-esteem = hunan-barch, hunan-dyb = karantez an-unan

Les mots de la semaine

By Simon

– la caisse (enregistreuse), le tiroir caisse = till / cash register = cofrestr arian = kefierez
– la caisse automatique = self-service till / self checkout = cofrestr arian awtomatig = kefierez emgefre
– casissier = checkout assistant = gweithiwr cofrestr arian
– vendeur (-euse) = shop assistant = gweithiwr siop = gwerzher
– l’hydromel (m) = mead = medd = chouchenn, dour-mel
– affolé = panic-stricken = llawn braw, rhuslyd, gwyllt
– affolant = disturbing = cynhyrfus, annifyr, cythryblus = da bennfollañ, braouac’hus
– affoler = to terrify = dychryn, brawychu, arswydo
– s’affoler = to (get into a) panic = cynhurfu, rhusio, dychryn = pennfollañ
– ne t’affole pas! = don’t panic = paid â chynhyrfu!

The person on the till

By Simon

Last night at the French conversation group one of the things we talked about was shopping, particularly in supermarkets, and one of the words we weren’t sure of was till / cash register. I now know this is la caisse (enregistreuse) or le tiroir caisse and that someone who works on a till is possibly un caissier or une caissière.

This got me thinking what you call such a person in English. You might call them a shop assistant or maybe a cashier, but neither of these seems to fit the job very well.

What would you call such a person? Would the term you use depend on the kind of shop?

Yardarms

By Simon

Photo of a sailing ship's rigging showing the yards and yardarms

Last night there was some discussion of the phrase ‘when the sun is over the yardarm’ and none of us were sure what a yardarm or even a yard is. I suspected that there were part of the rigging of a sailing ship, but wasn’t sure which part.

I now know that a yard is a spar, or long piece of wood or metal attached to the mast of a sailing ship to which the sails are attached, and that a yardarm is the end of a yard (see photo).

The phrase ‘over the yardarm’ refers to the practise of officers on sailing ships of waiting until the sun appeared to above a particular yardarm before having their lunch or first alcoholic drink of the day. In summer in the north Atlantic this would be at about 11am. This became the time when the sailors received their first ration of rum, and the officers stuck to this time even when ashore. The expression spread to landlubbers and is still quite widely used, especially in North America. On land the sun appears over the proverbial yardarm at around 5pm. It first appeared in print in Rudyard Kipling’s From Sea to Sea in 1899. [from World Wide Words and Wikipedia].

Les mots de la semaine

By Simon

– apprenti(e) = apprentice = prentis = deskard
– apprentissage = apprenticeship = prentisiaeth = deskardelezh
– le porte-clefs/porte-clés = key ring / chain / fob = torch allwedd = doug alc’hwezoù
– l’anneaux porte-clefs = key ring = torch allwedd = (?)
– une clé/clef de rechange / une autre (clef) = spare key = allwedd sbâr = alc’hwez da drok (?)
– un roue de rechange/de secours = spare wheel = olwyn sbâr = rod-eskemm
– l’ouïe (f) = hearing = clyw = kleved / klev
– être dur(e) d’oreille = to be hard of hearing = bod yn drwm dy glyw = bezañ fall e gleved, bezañ teñvalglev
– la brasserie = brewery = bracty, bragdy = bierezh, breserezh
– (nez) camus = pug nose = trwyn smwt = fri-togn