idioms
Tearjerker tips for Europe in crisis
Read ‘em and weep: ‘tearjerker’ is a noun which translates practically perfectly into other European languages. It is used mostly to describe a film, book, play or song which moves us to tears. The entertainment industry gets an excessively sentimental Europe down, but these pearls could also abate our crisis-ridden depression
idioms, love, music, cinema, economical crisis, entertainment, culture
Pass the buck, Murdoch and Brooks
During the British parliamentary hearing of the news tycoon Murdochs on 19 July, a friend analysed the 'father-and-son's game of patty-cake': 'I pass the buck to you, you pass it back. Pass pass pass pass, oh, and then pass it to competitor papers, because it's clearly their fault. And then pass it to News of the World because how can one or two men be responsible for a company that's just SO big?' Is it a phrase which translates well to other European idioms?
idioms, newspaper, scandal, media, united kingdom, european parliament, rubert murdoch
Censorship: EU vs Turkey's 138 internet domain name ban
Rated ‘partially free’ in the reporters without borders freedom index, Turkey is the European country with the highest amount of domain name bans. The Turkish telecommunications directorate list of 'expurgatorial words' - for example, you can't use the word for sister-in-law (Bildaz) - was sent to web hosting companies on 28 April. In the EU there are less amusing comparisons
idioms, internet, censorship, pornography, youtube, freedom of expression, press freedom
When pigs fly
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
idioms, lisbon treaty, expressions, tower of babel, languages
Pulling a sickie
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
idioms, health, swine flu, sars, tuberculosis, malaria, spanish flu, economy, literature, expressions
Tree huggers
The times in which eco-warriors and nature lovers raged unrest in the downtown areas whilst kitted out in hand-knitted wool jumpers and Birkenstocks are now over. Now that the trend of being eco-aware has come to the forefront of society, the whole of Europe is witnessing a bloom in eco-green ‘cusswords’
idioms, italy, bioethics, united kingdom, lifestyle, green cities, germany
Audio: young lady, visit my tent!
French charm offensives, Irish port grumps in Spain – the words Europeans leave behind. Weekly language edition
Don't be a Jew!
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
idioms, money, jews, racism, stereotype , expressions, tower of babel
