蹩腳 -
(of a person) incompetent; amateurish; (of a task or a skill) shoddy; unrefined; inferior
说蹩脚汉语 ― shuō biéjiǎo Hànyǔ ― to speak terrible Chinese
As in, 蹩脚货 “Limping foot goods” - shoddy quality stuff.
Nat Baca
I'm interested in everything.
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By day, I'm a Director of Engineering at the Wikimedia Foundation. By night, I'm a host of Nerd Nite Albuquerque. I've worked for Apple, Spotify, the White House, and more. I like to read, write, and code.
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TIL: ironic diminutives!
-ón, Spanish: usually embiggens, but in a few cases, indicates small size of or a lack of something (such as an ironic augmentative)
pelo + -ón → pelón (“with little or no hair”)
rabo + -ón → rabón (“with little or no tail”)
rata (“rat”) + -ón → ratón (“mouse”)
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Can we bring back the diminutive “-ga” suffix?
-ga, Old English-
Diminutive suffix, used especially in familiar names for pets.
docga ― dog
frocga ― frog
*picga ― pig
*snecga ― snail
stacga ― stag
wicga ― insect
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¿Camarón pela’o tú quieres?
Camarón pela’o te doy!
¿Camaron pela’o prefieres?
Con salsita y con limón!
Do you want peeled shrimp?
I give you peeled shrimp!
Do you prefer peeled shrimp?
With a little sauce and lemon!
This is arguably the purest expression of love in music.
Los Polifaceticos · Lo Mejor De Los 70’s · Song · 2006
the coconut was named after a ghost demon!:
“[it] wants to resemble a nose placed between two round eyes, from where it throws the sprout, when it wants to be born; by reason of such figure, it was called by our [men] coco, name imposed by the women on anything they want to put fear to the children”
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如虎添翼 - Literally: “like a tiger that has grown wings”. Further strengthening; with redoubled power
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Dragonfly in Welsh: gwas y neidr -
From gwas (“servant”) + y (“(of) the”) + neidr(“snake”).
Do the Welsh know something we don’t?
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Shitgibbon - A type of compound word used as an insult, consisting of a single-syllable expletive, followed by an absurd or innocuous two-syllable noun that usually forms a trochee.
Category:English shitgibbons - Wiktionary, the free dictionary
is another goldmine
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Related: Bahuvrihi - a type of compound word that denotes a referent by specifying a certain characteristic or quality the referent possesses…from Sanskrit: बहुव्रीहि, ‘having much rice’, originally referring to fertile land but later denoting the quality of being wealthy or rich. See English “lowlife”
Cantamañanas - one who “sings tomorrows” = bullshitter.
“Someone who lacks integrity and never keeps their promises is the type of person who claims they will sing tomorrow, even though we know they won’t.”
Orígenes de expresiones curiosas. Cantamañanas.
Orígenes de expresiones curiosas. Cantamañanas. Hay una serie de palabras y expresiones que usamos con soltura pero que son ciertamente curiosas y…