cafebabel.com

Middle finger in Europe

('cbinns',) — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 14:10:52 -0000

Despite the globalisation of the audiovisual world and the constant information overload, gestures appear to be just as effective as when they were first invented many centuries ago, so much so that using a simple gesture to order two coffees can almost end up sparking a row. A rudimentary guide to hands, chins and backsides to help you avoid problems in Europe

Not going on holiday? You're on 'staycation'

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 16:00:00 -0000

It seems an eternity, but the financial crisis is only just celebrating its second birthday. The US has spawned a side effect phenomenon, a neat little neologism called the 'staycation'. The term contradicts the notion of going away on 'vacation'. People can't afford holidays and are 'staying' home. Is it clear enough?

Schweinsteiger or Pig-Climber?

('Sarah Truesdale',) — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 12:30:00 -0000

Foreign names are not often translated into Spanish in Spain: you don’t usually hear people talking about Guillermo Shakespeare or prime minister 'Shoemaker' (Zapatero) abroad, for example. But, what would happen if foreign names were translated in every language?

The Sardinian link to 'feet' expressions in Europe

Wed, 24 Mar 2010 10:39:33 -0000

Essential but mistreated – that is the foot’s sad fate, more often than not used as a vehicle for negativity. It’s a destiny which unites all feet throughout Europe, even chiropodists from the Old Continent, who cannot make head nor tail of it all, and who start every day 'on the wrong foot'

PIIGS unwelcome in the EU parlour: war of words rocks Eurozone

("naomi o'leary",) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 11:00:00 -0000

Despite Silvio Berlusconi’s dreams, the next member of the Eurozone is unlikely to be Israel; even Croatia or Turkey have taken a back seat. The current pan-EU squabble is over who should have been admitted to the eurozone in the first place

You’re getting on my goat

('nisimasian',) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 10:00:00 -0000

They say that the French are the biggest moaners in Europe, and it’s no lie! They have several expressions for when they need to let off steam. Whilst the Poles go into a 'white fever', the Spaniards ‘turn black’ – it's the saying of the week

Baby language

('Paulina Dominik',) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:31:41 -0000

Scientists and parents were shaken by a recent discovery: newborns cry in tune with the melody line that they have most often heard while still in their mothers’ placenta. To that, we say ga ga - baby phrases of the week

It's like talking to a Berlin wall

('Sarah Truesdale',) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:00:00 -0000

140 kilometres of wall crumbled in 1989 and hundreds of European expressions arose as it fell. The idiom of the week is flavoured by the 9 November event

Sourpuss

('Sarah Pybus',) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:00:00 -0000

Being 'as sour as vinegar' is a saying that's recognisable across the continent, but why? It starts with the word itself - vinum acetum means 'wine turned sour'. Idiom of the week

When pigs fly

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:00:00 -0000

On Saint Never's day, a blue moon rises in the sky and the scene is like Noah's Ark. The creatures climb on board, in an attempt to prove that an event will never happen: they are hairy frogs, toothy chickens, flying pigs, flying donkeys, whistling crawfish and dark Germans .... it's the idiom of the week

Is your gran a 'silver surfer'?

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:57:36 -0000

French grandmas in stinging nettles, German grandpas at the European parliament and Polish grannies working in communist toilets - there's a visually colourful variety of 'ageing' expressions across the European continent

'I couldn't give a hoot'

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 12:00:00 -0000

You couldn't care less what somebody is saying to you? European expressions range from the Germans 'not giving a sausage' to rather more vulgar sausage sayings ... read on for the weekly idiom roundup

Pulling a sickie

("naomi o'leary",) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 10:00:00 -0000

Whether through dishonesty, laziness or a touch of hypochondria, hoards of the European workforce take undeserved days off each year. Our vocabulary for the practice comes from French literature and ancient Greece

European versions of 'Nobody puts baby in a corner'

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 12:28:58 -0000

On 14 September American actor Patrick Swayze died of pancreatic cancer, aged 57. Generations of teenage – and grown-up girls – knew him as the hunky dance teacher of the 1987 film Dirty Dancing, a cult hit in Europe

All good things come in small packages

('Sarah Truesdale',) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 14:00:00 -0000

French and Italian heads of state Nicolas Sarkozy and Silvio Berlusconi are shorter than average but, depending on the country, this is not necessarily a fault! High heels ahoy: it's the weekly tour of European expressions

Expressions: why the Spanish ask you not to act like a Swede

('Helen Swain',) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 08:00:00 -0000

The weekly overview of linguistic expressions is devoted to Sweden, who are holding the rotating six-month presidency of the EU, before the baton is handed over to Spain in 2010

Europe's fugly munters and mingers

('Aatish Pattni',) — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:16:18 -0000

'Ugly' is relative. Europe is creative with names when someone is ‘offensive to the eyes’. Tuna fish, veils, mussels or middle-aged pop stars beware - when Europe maligns ugliness they all have to pay the price…

Throw your toys out of the pram

('Sarah Truesdale',) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 11:06:59 -0000

The Irish kick off after a 'scathing electoral defeat', whilst the Germans can be heard to 'wail like cats'. Weekly language expressions from around Europe

G8: Obama 'wouldn't hurt a fly'

('Sarah Truesdale',) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:15:00 -0000

When the US president killed a fly in a live CNBC interview on 17 June, it got the whole world buzzing. Will his fellow leaders be all a-tremble when they meet in L'Aquila, Italy, on 8 July? Roundup of the weekly expression and its European counterparts

The longest word in Europe is...

('Darren Thompson',) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 15:00:00 -0000

A European anthology of the longest and most unpronounceable words. At the cafebabel.com newsroom, we’re suffering from European dyslexia. Including audio and some cheeky Mary Poppins videos

An apple a day

('Luciana Grosu',) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 11:55:17 -0000

Apples are used in European sayings to express everything from nasty people, looking healthy and causing chaos - weekly idioms with audio

Does Berlusconi speak through his ass or his elbow?

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 17:57:56 -0000

Depends whether you are in England or Spain if you want an answer to that one - the weekly idiomatic expressions of the week from over Europe

Armed to the tooth

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 10:57:21 -0000

Teeth: find out why the Italians eat their pasta to the them, why the Brits pull them and the French have them all - idiomatic expression of the week

‘Holland, Denmark are language learning examples for France, England and Spain’

('Kate Stansfield',) — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 11:49:26 -0000

In Spain, professionals like Ignacio Bosque condemn the lack of government investment into language teaching in European universities

Casanova pops the cherry

('Natasha Doff',) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:00:00 -0000

Where does the cherry come into European womanising? Weekly look at pan-European expressions

Little boy’s room

('Sarah Truesdale',) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 16:55:25 -0000

Toilet, lavatory, restroom: what do you call the 'loo' in your language?

Napoleon's Chinese whispers

('Sarah Truesdale',) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:24:28 -0000

How western Europeans use the word 'China' to express being stressed, arrogant or insignificant

Bikini body

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 11:01:20 -0000

You can be as hungry as a wolf, pig or blind dog in Europe

Don't be a Jew!

Wed, 22 Feb 2006 12:00:00 -0000

The anti-Semitic expressions that are still present in European languages demonstrate just how much the fear and distrust of Jewish people has been engrained into our society