Well it’s Monday, right? So a lot of people are headed to work right now, including for a lot of bosses who are less than ideal. Therefore it’s good to know today’s word: ticalos (teek-a-los), which not even the DEX knows where it came from originally. This word is both an adjective and a noun and is generally translated as (someone being) a “jerk” or … Continue reading Word of the Day: Ticalos
One of the few slang words I’ve been able to discover that have been created recently, as in just in the last 20 years or so, is the word naspa (nosh-pah). What’s interesting about naspa is that it is identical to a non-slang word, nasol, which just means anything ugly, unpleasant or of “low quality”. In other words, anything you don’t like is naspa or … Continue reading Slang Word of the Day: Naspa
There is a common (not slang) expression used in Romania that seems a little weird at first – 7 ani de acasa (shop-tay awn day ah casa) because it literally means “seven years at home”. What does it mean? Even today, a child legally does not need to go to (full-time) school until s/he is seven years old. That is because the child is supposed … Continue reading Expression of the Day: 7 Ani de Acasa
You might remember my posts on the slang usage of the words marfa and tare, both of which mean “cool” or “awesome” or “brilliant”. Now here’s yet another word with similar meanings: beton (beh-tone). The standard meaning of this noun, borrowed directly from the French, is “concrete” as in the ancient mixture of sand and water to form a rock-like substance. Over time this got … Continue reading Slang Word of the Day: Beton
I think one of my favorite slang words in Romania is marfă (mar-fuh), although I don’t use it very often. The standard use of the word marfa is as a noun to indicate “cargo” or “manufactured goods” or sometimes “freight”, borrowed directly from a Hungarian word (márha) that means cattle or livestock. In slang usage however this becomes an adjective and is used to indicate … Continue reading Slang Word of the Day: Marfa
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