From the Telegraph:
Toujours Tingo, a book by Adam Jacot de Boinod, lists weird words and bizarre phrases from around the world. The “tingo” of its title is an Easter Island word, meaning to borrow objects from a friend’s house one by one until there are none left.
Some of my favorite words exceprted in that story:
Gwarlingo: Welsh description of the sound of a grandfather clock before it strikes.
Pisan zapra: Malay for the time needed to eat a banana.
Layogenic: Filipino for someone good-looking from afar but ugly up close.
Mouton enragé : French for someone calm who loses their temper – literally, “an enraged sheep”.
Yupienalle: Swedish for a mobile phone – literally, “yuppie teddy” like a security blanket.
Sjostygg: Norwegian for someone so ugly the tide refuses to come in if they stand on the shore.
Sadly, it appears that this book is not yet available in the US but you can get it via Amazon.co.uk. Looks like a good present to me!
