Tag: expression
WOTD: Bătut în cuie
When I write about “Words of the Day” I like to find either rare expressions or ones that you might not casually find in the dictionary. Whether it’s common everywhere or not, it seems like lately I’ve been hearing this one quite a lot. Today’s phrase bătut în cuie (batoot in kwee-yeah) literally means “beaten in (with) nails” but is very similar to both the … Continue reading WOTD: Bătut în cuie
Expression of the Day: În carne și oase
It’s no surprise that Romanians eat a lot of meat (especially pork!) and thus have a lot of slang expressions and euphemisms based on the word carne (meat). One interesting one is în carne și oase, which literally translates to “in meat and bones”. But what does it mean? It’s exactly equivalent to the English expression “flesh and blood”, as in meeting someone in person … Continue reading Expression of the Day: În carne și oase
Word of the Day: Pluta
In Romanian, the (standard) word for cork, as in the buoyant bark of a certain tree, is pluta (plew-tuh). When referring to the stopper in the top of a wine bottle (made from cork) however, the word is dop (dope). There are some interesting euphemisms using the word pluta. The one I’m most familiar with – and it may just be a regional variant – … Continue reading Word of the Day: Pluta
Expression of the Day: De Mama Focului
Living here in Romania and speaking English, it’s natural that I’m going to run into a few religious foreigners. Outside of Bucharest, I think half the foreigners or more are here primarily for religious purposes. Anyway, the other day one of them used a Romanian expression (correctly) and I had to cover my mouth not to bust out laughing. The reason I was smiling so … Continue reading Expression of the Day: De Mama Focului
