What's your favourite word in a foreign language?
Mine's probably 'pamplemousse'. 'Grapefruit' is a dull and misleading name for it but 'pamplemousse' just sounds fantastic.

alt: do you buy a newspaper? If so, which one and why?
(Zoz prayed for twink on, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 9:54, 69 replies, latest was 15 years ago)

Schwartzwelde Kirschtorten
I've no idea why my brain chose to retain this out of everything I learnt during GCSE German, the rest of which has fucked right off out of my brain.

Means Black Forest Gateau. Mmmm, chocolatey. Fuck me I'm hungry
(Darth Foxtrot A one-man army dedicated to making fetch happen, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 9:56, Reply)

I haven't had it in years
every childhood birthday I had it without fail as it was the only cake my mam could make. I think it was because someone showed her how to do the chocolate cake bit in the microwave.
(Zoz prayed for twink on, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:03, Reply)

I have respect for anyone who can make good cake
I'm still mystified by the process itself. You whack eggs and flour and whatever else in a tin, put it in the oven and a cake comes out? What the actual fuck? Science, my arse. MAGIC.
(Darth Foxtrot A one-man army dedicated to making fetch happen, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:14, Reply)

As the insane clown posse would say
"Fucking baking? How does that work?"
( The Light in Chains don't touch the Pope's boner, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:18, Reply)

I would have expected schwarzwälde
Schwarz being black and wälde being forest, and all.
( The Light in Chains don't touch the Pope's boner, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:17, Reply)

I can only spell in one language
And yes, I took my time typing that so as to not undermine my point
(Darth Foxtrot A one-man army dedicated to making fetch happen, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:25, Reply)

'prestidigitador'
Boring to look at, but when you realise it's pronounced 'press de dick eat a door', then it's ace.

(Spanish for 'magician', by the way.)
( Roota zweeeeeoooooowm, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 9:58, Reply)

that's a gem!
I've heard that the Hungarian for cheeseburger is pronounced 'shiteburger'.
(Zoz prayed for twink on, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:04, Reply)

"Moo" is Thai for pork, not cow/beef
"Poo" is Thai for crab.
( Labia Majora You keep on talking but it makes no sense at all, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:11, Reply)

I work with Hungarians I shall ask them

( TGB checking Off Topic is still shit at, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:54, Reply)

they use that in English too
it's like the posh word for magician.

Also, morning sis. How was the land of heathens and sheep shaggers?
( b3th Not shit. Not mod., Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:36, Reply)

Oh hai sis, I missed you
Hold on, I'll look for more recent postings...
( Roota zweeeeeoooooowm, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 11:49, Reply)

It's a tossup between 'schadenfreude' and 'plumbum'
The former because of what it means, the latter because saying it aloud makes me giggle like a naughty schoolchild.
( Labia Majora You keep on talking but it makes no sense at all, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 9:58, Reply)

yeah plumbum's ace

( Roota zweeeeeoooooowm, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 9:59, Reply)

Cornichon
Which I believe is Frenchist for gherkin. Partly because calling someone 'mon petit cornichon' doesn't immediately sound like an insult.
(PenguinOfDeath is Scottish, and most likely angry, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:00, Reply)

I like this
See also "poubelle" and "cochon d'Inde".
( Labia Majora You keep on talking but it makes no sense at all, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:02, Reply)

Turns out the French are useful for something after all

(PenguinOfDeath is Scottish, and most likely angry, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:03, Reply)

The Merovingian:
"Fantastic language. Especially to curse with. Nom de dieu de putain de bordel de merde de saloperie de connard d'enculé de ta mère. It's like wiping your arse with silk. I love it."
( Labia Majora You keep on talking but it makes no sense at all, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:06, Reply)

GQOTD
Although I suspect you've purloined it from somewhere rather than remembered it, due to the presence of accents an' that
(Darth Foxtrot A one-man army dedicated to making fetch happen, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:12, Reply)

IMDB innit
I remembered a chunk of it, but couldn't remember all the French. Plus it's quicker to copypasta.
( Labia Majora You keep on talking but it makes no sense at all, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:13, Reply)

Fair play
Now translate it, bitch
(Darth Foxtrot A one-man army dedicated to making fetch happen, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:26, Reply)

...
something about God, a whore in a brothel, shit, I'm not sure what that one is, possibly a ski slope?, something about a duck's mother.

I could be wrong.
(berk, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:37, Reply)

Google translate gets everything
but loses the sense a little.
( The Light in Chains don't touch the Pope's boner, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:39, Reply)

A saloperie I imagine is also a whorehouse
I think "une salope" is a bitch. But I'm often wrong.
( Lampito rise with the moon, go to bed with the sun, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:39, Reply)

Learning French is trivial: the word for horse is cheval, and everything else follows in the same way.
/geek-quote (Alan Perlis if anyone cares)
(BrianHequator was stretching owls, on, or around, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:32, Reply)

I am reliably informed
that a pea-greenish colour is called 'goose shit' in french.
(berk, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:05, Reply)

The tiny chillies that a lot of Thai food is cooked with
Are known as "mouse shit chillies" in Thailand.
( Labia Majora You keep on talking but it makes no sense at all, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:06, Reply)

there's a type of sea urchin in Japan
that is served in sushi places called 'horseshit urchin'. Apparently that's the really good stuff.
(Zoz prayed for twink on, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:10, Reply)

Alt: I like to get the Grauniad on a Saturday to accompany my noms
I only read the magazines and the Family section though.
( Roota zweeeeeoooooowm, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:00, Reply)

Schnurrbart is a good one
(german for moustache)
(berk, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:01, Reply)

I've got an english moustache

( Bartleby A dead man on vacation, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:14, Reply)

I like 'mampfen' for noshing (food)
someone also once told me that the German for nitrogen (Stickstoff) means 'Suffocating-stuff'
(Zoz prayed for twink on, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:22, Reply)

'El dedo gordo del pie'
'Big toe' in Spanish.
( Roota zweeeeeoooooowm, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:03, Reply)

Whykickamoocow.
It's a place in New Zealand and the name of a band many years ago.
( girlinthehole, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:03, Reply)

I love this!

( Labia Majora You keep on talking but it makes no sense at all, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:04, Reply)

Not quite
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waikikamukau
(berk, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:06, Reply)

: (
Now you've spoilt it for me.
( girlinthehole, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:08, Reply)

Sorry!
it does say that they use it, but that it's more a generic placeholder name rather than an actual place.
(berk, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:11, Reply)

really?
Ha!
( Roota zweeeeeoooooowm, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:07, Reply)

Panzer

( Naked Ape call me Caitlyn, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:05, Reply)

Computer, machiner
PANZERMENSCH!
(A somewhat comedy EBM tune I used to play)
( Labia Majora You keep on talking but it makes no sense at all, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:09, Reply)

Is anything by And One not at least a bit comedy?
Spectacularly good live band though
(Darth Foxtrot A one-man army dedicated to making fetch happen, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:13, Reply)

True and true!

( Labia Majora You keep on talking but it makes no sense at all, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:15, Reply)

Croissant
It's French for 'smug'.
( JeffTheDogFucker Can you dig it?, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:08, Reply)

Pellucid.
Very clear.
(Poppet some assembly required., Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:18, Reply)

Glissando
I could say it all day, but if I do that they'll lock me up and throw away the key.
( The Light in Chains don't touch the Pope's boner, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:20, Reply)

Schweinhund.

( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:25, Reply)

I like this

( sporters I’m sincerely gratitude to you, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:26, Reply)

Gott in himmel.

( girlinthehole, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:27, Reply)

RAUS!

( sporters I’m sincerely gratitude to you, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:28, Reply)

I went out with a half french lady many a year ago
and the frenchies call goosebumps chicken skin. Kind of made sense to me
( sporters I’m sincerely gratitude to you, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:28, Reply)

There's something rather Vichy about that.

( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:30, Reply)

Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz
I love that in German to make a new word you just mash old words together. It's the Sticklebricks of languages.

It means Beef Labeling Regulatory Authority.
( The Light in Chains don't touch the Pope's boner, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:31, Reply)

Fooking hell
You'd never get that on a nameplate.
(Reverend Fister "a disciplined fuckwit", Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:36, Reply)

They have to make the cuts of meat larger
to fit it on the label. Cunning chaps, the huns.
( The Light in Chains don't touch the Pope's boner, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:38, Reply)

'mensch' is a favourite of mine
Actually, many German words are fab, largely because they basically describe their function. For example, umbrella is 'rain protector', parachute is 'fall protector', and diarrhoea is 'fall through'.

I like their word for caffeine too - 'Koffein' pronounced more or less 'cough - er - een'.

Also, I remember Billy Crystal once banging on about how French was a much nicer language than German because it sounds prettier. He said the French for butterfly is 'papillon' and the German for butterfly is 'Chhhhhhhhhhhhhhhkkkkkkkkkkkhhhhh'. This is not true. The German for butterfly is 'Schmetterling', which sounds lovely.

/German teacher blog
( b3th Not shit. Not mod., Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:34, Reply)

Billy Crystal is a fucking cunt.

( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:48, Reply)

You called?
(An hour ago.)
(Spleep Shit, or get off the internet., Thu 17 Feb 2011, 11:23, Reply)

irrumo, irrumare, irrumavi, irrumatus
Means "to forcibly stick your dick down someone's throat".

There are corresponding greek words, but also rhaphanidosis is the act of shoving a radish up someone's arse and apocolocyntosis means the act of turning into a pumpkin.
( Lampito rise with the moon, go to bed with the sun, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:38, Reply)

*clicks*
LOVE this post.
(Poppet some assembly required., Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:43, Reply)

There's a poem that starts off which is translated as "I'll bugger you, and stuff your gobs"
The word that means bugger, "pedico", is a little untranslatable. Scholars have come to the conclusion that it means "to have anal sex with" because of the etymological connection with "paidos", the Greek for boy, and to quote my lecturer, "there's only so much you can do with little boys".
( Lampito rise with the moon, go to bed with the sun, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:46, Reply)

Lovin those kerrazy Romans!

( sporters I’m sincerely gratitude to you, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:44, Reply)

I'm a big fan of 'funkapparat'
It was introduced by Goebbels/Hitler because 'radio' sounded too English, according to my brother.
( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:51, Reply)

I imagine your flat to have some kind of massive record player
labelled as such
( sporters I’m sincerely gratitude to you, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:52, Reply)

My flat looks like a shabby record shop.

( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 10:59, Reply)

Being Massive Druglollers and WWII enthusiasts,
my friend Ciaran and I refer to Rizlas as ‘Ausweis’ as in ‘papers’. We find this to be extraordinarily amusing, top quality humorists that we are.
( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 11:08, Reply)

do you refer to your living room as 'der Lebensraum'?

(Zoz prayed for twink on, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 11:10, Reply)

Actually yes I am embarrassed to say that I do.

( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 11:21, Reply)

Mangusta.
I've decided that if I ever have to use a pen name, it's going to be Nathanial Mangusta.

Because it sounds slightly exotic. And Mangusta means Mongoose in Italian and in French it's a kind of 'fighting boat'.
(Miraclefish How appropriate, you fight like a cow, Thu 17 Feb 2011, 11:55, Reply)