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 #17 (permalink) Wed Mar 14, 2007 19:28 pm What's the funniest English expression |
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| prezbucky wrote: |
| ROFL @ "Foamy". That is just waaaaaaaaaaaaay below the belt. Poor kid! |
That kid got through it okay, but the girl of steel got so embarrassed by the nickname we boys gave her out of admiration for a very firm part of her anatomy that she actually quit competitive swimming. I felt ashamed when she quit, and tried to talk her back into her sport, but no luck.
| prezbucky wrote: |
| Do you remember the fun we had with "fahrvergnugen" in those old VW ads? That was a blast in junior high and high school. |
There were those bumper stickers that showed the Fahrvergn?gen guy dancing around, and they said, "F?nkingr?vin". I was an adult when those VW ads came out, so I don't know what kids did with the word.
I do, however, remember other faux German words that kids often repeated, such as "stopsemfromfloppin", which we said was the "German" word for a certain ladies' undergarment. |
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Jamie (K)
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Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA
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| #18 (permalink) Wed Mar 14, 2007 20:14 pm What's the funniest English expression |
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Most Americans I know laugh at the German word for 'Exit' (Ausfahrt) when they first encounter it on the German Autobahn. I had a friend visiting me in Germany once who insisted on hanging out of the car window (while we were going at the usual dare-devil Autobahn speed) just to get the best possible photo of that word on the sign.  |
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Yankee
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| #19 (permalink) Wed Mar 14, 2007 20:22 pm What's the funniest English expression |
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| I think one of the funniest German words is the one for exhaust, which is "Auspuff". Just as funny is one of the words for exhaust pipe, which is "Auspuffrohr", which sounds like "out poof roar". |
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Jamie (K)
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Joined: 24 Feb 2006
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Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA
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| #20 (permalink) Thu Mar 15, 2007 0:24 am What's the funniest English expression |
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| Jamie (K) wrote: |
| "stopsemfromfloppin" |
In Spain, a pseudo-German term for the underground goes: "subanempujenestrujenybajen" (the Spanish 'j' is pronounced as the German 'ch' in 'ach') -- literally: "get on, push, squeeze and get off".
There's also a pseudo-Arabic expression: "bajamelajaulajaimeb?jamela" ("get the cage down for me, James, get it down").
I've just thought of another popular fake Arabic term: "jam?sjamar?sjam?n" ("you'll never scoff ham"). |
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Conchita
Language Coach
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Location: Madrid, Spain
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| #21 (permalink) Thu Mar 15, 2007 12:38 pm What's the funniest English expression |
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Conchita,
Really sorry to trouble you but I'm afraid I need explanations on the phrases in bold.
| Conchita wrote: |
#1 In Spain, a pseudo-German term for the underground goes: "subanempujenestrujenybajen" (the Spanish 'j' is pronounced as the German 'ch' in 'ach') -- literally: "get on, push, squeeze and get off".
#2 There's also a pseudo-Arabic expression: "bajamelajaulajaimeb?jamela" ("get the cage down for me, James, get it down").
#3 I've just thought of another popular fake Arabic term: "jam?sjamar?sjam?n" ("you'll never scoff ham"). |
But let me try first:
#1 Get on the car, start the engine, step on it(gas paddle) and drive? But what's with the underground?Subway train?
#2 Get me out of here?
#3 You can never said ham isn't tasty because you never taste it?or you can never eat ham?
Thank you in advance,
Nina |
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NinaZara
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| #22 (permalink) Thu Mar 15, 2007 13:27 pm What's the funniest English expression |
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It's no trouble at all, Nina.
| Quote: |
| #1 Get on the car, start the engine, step on it(gas paddle) and drive? But what's with the underground?Subway train? |
It has nothing to do with driving a train, but with travelling on a crowded one. Ever heard the expression 'squashed like sardines'? You need to use the metro, as we call the tube or underground here, during rush hours to fully grasp the expression. I'm not sure it's still like that nowadays, though, as I hardly ever use the metro any more.
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| #2 Get me out of here? |
No, the expression isn't an idiom. It doesn't mean anything, really, and can be translated literally.
| Quote: |
| #3 You can never said ham isn't tasty because you never taste it?or you can never eat ham? |
Again, we only need a literal translation: "You will/must never eat ham". |
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Conchita
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NinaZara
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| #24 (permalink) Fri Mar 16, 2007 12:16 pm What's the funniest English expression |
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| A question on another thread brought to mind an English term that I’ve always found funny, namely ‘eggs’ when referring to a woman’s ovules – the latter being the usual term in French and Spanish, for example; what’s more, it’s usually (and colloquially) men who have eggs here (great, now Jamie will think this is a fetish of mine!). |
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Conchita
Language Coach
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Posts: 2826
Location: Madrid, Spain
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| What do you think of criticism? | What do you find funny that other people don't? |
