expressions
Middle finger in Europe
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
expressions, insult, best of cafebabel.com, italy, spain, united kingdom, european union
Not going on holiday? You're on 'staycation'
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?
expressions, germany, best of cafebabel.com, italy, europe, spain, united kingdom
Schweinsteiger or Pig-Climber?
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?
expressions, josé luis rodríguez zapatero, jaroslaw kaczynski, europe, ségolene royal, translation, bastian schweinsteiger
The Sardinian link to 'feet' expressions in Europe
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'
expressions, italy, sardinia, feet, ichnos, tower of babel, languages
PIIGS unwelcome in the EU parlour: war of words rocks Eurozone
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
expressions, economic growth, germany, spain, portugal, economy, eurozone
You’re getting on my goat
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
expressions, germany, europe, spain, poland, france, tower of babel
Baby language
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
expressions, eurovision song contest, henning studte, children, translation, language, tower of babel
It's like talking to a Berlin wall
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
expressions, 1989, germany, cold war, best of cafebabel.com, berlin wall, berlin
Sourpuss
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
expressions, food, rome, translation, language, tower of babel
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
expressions, tower of babel, languages, idioms, lisbon treaty
Is your gran a 'silver surfer'?
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
expressions, age, pensioner, work, consumers, translation, europa
'I couldn't give a hoot'
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
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
expressions, literature, health, economy, swine flu, sars, tuberculosis, malaria, spanish flu, idioms
European versions of 'Nobody puts baby in a corner'
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
expressions, dance, cinema, film, united states, patrick swayze, usa
All good things come in small packages
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
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
'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…
expressions, animals, music, audio, translation, language, tower of babel
Throw your toys out of the pram
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
expressions, identity, declan ganley, european elections 2009, translation, elections, language
G8: Obama 'wouldn't hurt a fly'
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
