Friday 23 May 2014

Vocabulary: Words Worth Noticing

Backpfeifengesicht????
Image from zcache

A busy week for me is a lazy week for me on the blog, meaning I won't be writing too much. That being said, there are still tonnes of goodness to learn here.
"Park the bus"
Image from Locky's English Playground & ESPN

Those of you who follow me on Facebook and Google+ should realise that I am increasingly interested in soccer these days. Who wouldn't anyway? That's exactly how I came across a forgotten term, "park the bus", which sort of originated from one of the best football manager in the world, Jose Mourinho. More on soccer terms when the World Cup draws even closer.

Now, 22 words you won't believe are brand names:




To be honest, I only know that Xerox, Jacuzzi, Laundromat, Post-Its and Zip Code are brand names, in addition to Scotch tape, Tipp-Ex, Band-Aid, Panadol, Viagra, ... but hey, if I start going into medicine names then everyone is a brand name.

Let's go to the next one, 16 Words We Don't Have In English,



I must say I really really like "gigil" from Tagalog (because the girls need it), "shitta" from Farsi (because it sounds like "shitter" meaning "more than disgusting" and it kind of fit), "bakku-shan" from Japanese (because there is a very similar term in Hong Kong) and "Backpfeifengesicht" from German (because they are everywhere), but the problem is, I probably won't remember how to pronounce the last one, which pronounces like /ˌbæbˈfaɪə.fʌŋ.ɡə.sɪhst/ (or "bacb-FIRE-fungus-seaHisst"). Last but not least, megagaltastic!

Let's practise!



Vocabulary:
park the bus -- expression used when all the players on a team play defensively, usually when the team is winning by a narrow margin.
gigil -- (Tagalog) when something is so cute you have to pinch it
shitta -- (Farsi) leftover dinner eaten for breakfast
bakku-shan (バックシャン ) -- (Japanese) seeing a woman who appears pretty from behind but not from the front
backpfeifengesicht -- (German) a face badly in need of a fist
megagaltastic -- (adj) characterized by an extensive vocabulary

Resources:
bakku-shan @ Wiktionary
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/バックシャン

16 Words We Don't Have In English @ YouTube
http://youtu.be/gykOF7lWpyM

22 Words You Won't Believe Are Brand Names @ YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qi1Ilv_x7kM

Bakku shan - Japan Season - BBC Four @ YouTube
http://youtu.be/JyQmVB-vVeI

Glossary of association football terms @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_association_football_terms#P

Scotch Tape @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotch_Tape

Tipp-Ex @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tipp-Ex

Band-Aid @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Band-Aid

Panadol @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panadol

Viagra @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viagra

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=megagaltastic