Comments on: Everything has an end, only the sausage has two. And what would a monkey know of the taste of ginger anyway?

Everything has an end, only the sausage has two. And what would a monkey know of the taste of ginger anyway?

iamkimiam — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 09:44:46 -0800

Alles hat ein Ende, nur die Wurst hat zwei.
Bandar kya jaane adrak ka swad?
...and other foodie figures of speech. A few more to nibble on. Or jump to 27:25 of this week's World in Words to hear butchered renditions of the podcast crew's favorites (iTunes link)

By: iamkimiam

iamkimiam — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 09:55:32 -0800

Another YouTube video: Yeh munh aur masoor ki dal? (from #25 of the Hindi food idioms link: Literal translation: "This face – and you want red lentil soup?" Masoor ki dal (red lentil soup) used to be prepared as a rich delicacy in royal households, a meal fit for kings.)

By: infini

infini — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 10:06:46 -0800

dal mein kuch kala hai... hmmm

By: peacheater

peacheater — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 10:38:00 -0800

That list of Hindi food idioms is great. My knowledge of Hindi is really rusty at this point, but that list somehow captures how colorful spoken Hindi is very well.

By: clockwork

clockwork — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 11:09:44 -0800

French food idioms, courtesy of Chocolate and Zucchini

By: Kattullus

Kattullus — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 14:00:21 -0800

Oh man, it took me the longest time to figure out why that guy was so überfamiliar. It's the singer from Trio, of Da da da fame!

By: GenjiandProust

GenjiandProust — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 14:01:13 -0800

I may have to employ "Which farm is that radish from?" when I am perplexed at my coworkers.

By: narain

narain — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 15:19:00 -0800

This is slightly tangential, but I've always been amused by the fact that we Hindi speakers have a remarkable variety of buffalo-related idioms. 1. Bhains ke aage been bajana: To play the flute before a buffalo. Equivalent to casting pearls before swine. 2. Gayi bhains paani mein: The buffalo's gone in the water. As in, good luck getting it back out now. 3. Aql badi ki bhains? Which is mightier, intellect or a buffalo? 4. Jiski lathi, uski bhains: He who wields the stick, his is the buffalo. 5. Kala akshar bhains barabar: Can't tell a written alphabet from a buffalo. Indicates illiteracy. I like that last one best, because the buffalo really has no particular reason to be there. Its place in that sentence could be taken by just about any dark-coloured, funny-shaped object. But no, it has to be a buffalo. And then there is the classic Hindi film song, "Meri Bhains Ko Danda Kyun Mara?" ("Why Did You Hit My Buffalo?") I guess buffaloes are to Hindi what horses are to English.

By: narain

narain — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 15:35:28 -0800

GenjiandProust, I think the page is slightly off. The way the idiom usually goes is even funnier: Tu kis khet ki mooli hai? Which farm are you a radish of? As in, you are a radish. What I want to know is which radish farm you come from. You radish. Clearly an incisive way to ask, "What makes you think you're so special, jerk? (P.S. You're a radish.)"

By: Kattullus

Kattullus — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 16:21:41 -0800

There's an Icelandic sausage idiom that's pretty nice, þetta er rúsínan í pylsuendanum. "This is the raisin at the end of the sausage" It's analogous to "this is the cherry on the top of the cake," i.e. something that crowns already pretty great news (or event or situation etc).

By: iamkimiam

iamkimiam — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 16:48:52 -0800

Ha. I love that sausage is the signifier of greatness. And that a dried grape makes it that much more magnificent. I must endeavor to always serve sausage with a single sultana at the end. When they ask why, I'll oversell it in exotic-sounding lore, "Ancient etymological Icelandic tradition...means you shall enjoy the meal even more than you originally anticipated. Now eat up." Wait, is the raisin *inside* the sausage? Like a prize at the bottom of a cereal box?

By: iamkimiam

iamkimiam — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 16:50:16 -0800

P.S. You all are a bunch of radishes.

By: narain

narain — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 17:42:33 -0800

I too am now gripped with fascination regarding this mysterious raisin/sausage juxtaposition and/or implantation. Tell us, Kattullus! We must know!

By: the cydonian

the cydonian — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 19:23:55 -0800

Met a guy once who said he spent many years in the field doing research on forestry work or something, but when it came to our lunch, he was quite fussy with the food being offered. So someone asked him how he can be so choosy about what he'd eat, when given the spartan lifestyle he was leading in the field, he should be ecstatic at the huge spread at the buffet. Prompt came his reply: adrak kya jaane bandar ki swaad _{(How would ginger know what the taste of monkey is)}

By: Kattullus

Kattullus — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 23:04:52 -0800

By: infini

infini — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 03:04:52 -0800

I have a photograph of me with the farmer who pulled a radish out of his land and washed it in his well for me. I had to bite into it with a smile. It was not a small round red thing. It knew and so did I, exactly which farm it came from.

By: MartinWisse

MartinWisse — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 03:10:50 -0800

As far as I know, the idea of a raisin at the end of a sausage comes from Denmark. I believe there was a type of blood sausage made there that had raisins in it that would tend to collect at one end. Which reminds me of a short story I read in high school about a little boy who was very very fond of raisins, so much so that when he saw some floating in the bedpan in his parents' bedroom he had no problems eating them. They tasted weird however and it turned these weren't raisins, but bloodcuts as his mother had had her period... Didn't eat raisins for a long time afterwards.

By: Wilder

Wilder — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 04:32:44 -0800

Oh wow, we've gone for the disgusting images already?! Quick work. I got one. Talking of food images (Okay, I know you started with metaphors...) I was fascinated to discover the German word for placenta... MotherCake. That is all.