Funny word misunderstandings

[Fino]

I have this thing where I often suddenly hear a word as a sound and not as a word. It kind of freaks me out.

 

[Au Naturel]

This thread reminds me of the old joke of England and America divided by a common language. I got quite a chuckle when in GB referring to something I was wearing as a Fanny Pack.

That happened to me to. Lost my fanny pack in a train station. Immediately called up the station to try to get it back. Unattended luggage and all that and had my camera in it. Do not use fanny pack in Britain. Use waist pack. "Fanny" is a slang for a different part of the anatomy.

Did get it back eventually. They had to ship it from Britain to the US and I had to do a song and dance with an international parcel delivery service to pay for the shipping.

 

[Luca]

That happened to me to. Lost my fanny pack in a train station. Immediately called up the station to try to get it back. Unattended luggage and all that and had my camera in it. Do not use fanny pack in Britain. Use waist pack. "Fanny" is a slang for a different part of the anatomy.

Did get it back eventually. They had to ship it from Britain to the US and I had to do a song and dance with an international parcel delivery service to pay for the shipping.

Yeah... I was aware of what "fanny" means in England lol.
I usually refer to them as waist bags or crossbody bags anyway. I prefer them over purses and that's what I usually use them for. Also as dog treat bags lol, especially the ugly ones

 

[Forest Cat]

We, in the upper midwest have a lot of Norwegians and other Scandinavians. Here, though, they have what I can only describe as the cult of Lutefisk during the winter holidays. Ammonia smelling jellied fish just isn't my thing. Is that actually eaten in Norway?

Yes, lutefisk is traditional Christmas food. "Lye fish". It`s dried fish that is soaked in lye to rehydrate it. I think it is an acquired taste, it`s unusual.

But the Swedes have something much worse, "surströmming". Fermented herring. They think it`s food but it`s actually a biological weapon of mass destruction. The smell can strip paint off a car.

 

[Streetwise]

At least we're not scundered over such a thing. It's all good craic.....I think.

It would depend if you enjoyed the experience(Irish Gaelic craic)

 

[Mary Terry]

I once had a high fever from the flu. As hubby was driving me home from my doctor's office, I was hungry and saw a chicken restaurant, so I asked him to stop at "Pope Yes" to get takeout for dinner. We've called Popeyes by that name ever since.

 

[Callistemon]

But then there are all kinds of words- and names (and slang) in various languages that have very different meanings in other langauges. AWKWARD!

Indeed. "Mist" in German means "crap" so you can imagine the eyes of German high schoolers go wide when they read an English poem about the "mist-covered mountains"...

Speaking of, I once saw a telecast of Boris Becker playing Hopman Cup tennis, missing the ball, and exclaiming, "Mist! Mist!"

...and then the commentator with the plummy BBC accent, who didn't get it, said, "Well, Becker is commenting on the fact that he missed that ball."

 

[Gerald Wilgus]

Yes, lutefisk is traditional Christmas food. "Lye fish". It`s dried fish that is soaked in lye to rehydrate it. I think it is an acquired taste, it`s unusual.

But the Swedes have something much worse, "surströmming". Fermented herring. They think it`s food but it`s actually a biological weapon of mass destruction, it`s just awful. The smell can strip paint off a car.

I use Squid Brand Nam Pla (fish sauce) in cooking, one one can mix it with chilis and spices as a dipping sauce, Nam Pla Prick. The foulest food I have encountered is Durian, "the king of fruits."

When i was visiting København for work I enjoyed all the different herring preparations there, especially with a little Aquavit.

 

[Mary Terry]

I use Squid Brand Nam Pla (fish sauce) in cooking, one one can mix it with chilis and spices as a dipping sauce, Nam Pla Prick. The foulest food I have encountered is Durian, "the king of fruits."
View attachment 76651

When i was visiting København for work I enjoyed all the different herring preparations there, especially with a little Aquavit.

The mere smell of Durian makes me gag. I can't imagine eating it.

I keep a jar of pickled herring in cream sauce in the refrigerator. Makes a great lunch or late night snack on rye bread or Wasa crackers. The family thinks I'm insane to eat that stuff but I love it.

 

[Owliet]

Do you ever hear a word and misunderstand that word in a funny way?
Just now I hear "grapple" and thought I was going to get a news story on a new hybrid of grapes and apples.

Hey up me duck is a northern English saying that I’m still not very clear about what it means. Anyway, I went to York, in England once for a visit and had this said to me. I was offended because it sounded more like hey up another-word-that-rhymes-with-duck. Thankfully l had it repeated.

 

[Callistemon]

There is a song out there that shall not be named whose lyrics have been misheard as 'push pineapples down the loo'. Click on the spoiler at your own risk...

Spoiler

Congratulations! You improved the lyrics! I will always sing it like this now!

My husband says John Cage's 4:33 is Agadoo with all the bad music taken out...

 

[Callistemon]

When i was visiting København for work I enjoyed all the different herring preparations there, especially with a little Aquavit.

My husband read the whole Girl With The Dragon Tattoo trilogy thinking Aquavit was mineral water.

 

[Forest Cat]

I use Squid Brand Nam Pla (fish sauce) in cooking, one one can mix it with chilis and spices as a dipping sauce, Nam Pla Prick. The foulest food I have encountered is Durian, "the king of fruits."
View attachment 76651

When i was visiting København for work I enjoyed all the different herring preparations there, especially with a little Aquavit.

Aquavit is the water of life. My dad was a big fan of that, we always had aquavit during Christmas. We have a vile cheese here that I have never been able to get used to, it`s called "pultost". It`s made from sour milk flavored with caraway seeds... It`s just awful, if someone offers you pultost, run.

 

[Forest Cat]

Hey up me duck is a northern English saying that I’m still not very clear about what it means.

Hey up me duck? That so weird.

 

[Owliet]

Hey up me duck? That so weird.

I know! Looking it up in the slang dictionary it apparently means hello and an affectionate response to someone *young*. Pretty weird.
Then again I once said Grüessech to someone who was obviously not Swiss who thought I had insulted them because it sounds like I’m saying Grosser apparently.... Grüessech is a way of greeting people around my parts but each canton has their own specific variant.

 

[Crysalis99]

As a kid, at the dinner table., I once mis-used the word 'orgasm' (not even knowing what the word meant) with 'organism'. God did that get a major scold from my mom lol. I can't think of anything at the moment, but to this day I know I still do silly things like this.

 

[Mary Terry]

Aquavit is the water of life. My dad was a big fan of that, we always had aquavit during Christmas. We have a vile cheese here that I have never been able to get used to, it`s called "pultost". It`s made from sour milk flavored with caraway seeds... It`s just awful, if someone offers you pultost, run.

What's the name of the Norwegian cheese that tastes a lot like a yeasty peanut butter? It sounds like "yay toast" or something like that. I've always liked it in small quantities.

 

[Mary Terry]

The impression of things American from foreign tourists is funny too. On the million dollar highway in Colorado I was at a pullout to see some old mine works, and I met a couple from Oz. We got talking about travel and I was asking about visiting the beautiful Great Lakes and great beaches. They gave me a look and exclaimed "Oooh, but you have TORNADOS there!" America's Tornado Alley is a half a continent away from the Upper Midwest. We are The Unsalted Coast.

Very true. Many years ago, my parents hosted visiting Russian business students. My mom took one of them with her to the grocery store so he could wander around and look at the merchandise. He disappeared and she finally found him in the pet food aisle. He was horrified that Americans ate "cat food" and "dog food". That is what the labels on the cans say.

 

[Forest Cat]

What the name of the Norwegian cheese that tastes a lot like a yeasty peanut butter? It sounds like "yay toast" or something like that. I've always liked it in small quantities.

Could it be Geitost? Geit means goat, ost means cheese. Goat cheese. That`s my favorite cheese, brown goat cheese. Crispbread with brown goat cheese and hot cocoa is perfect on cold days. But that cheese has a secret, it`s not really cheese. It`s made of whey so it`s not like normal cheese. It`s caramelized whey.

 

[Forest Cat]

Very true. Many years ago, my parents hosted visiting Russian business students. My mom took one of them with her to the grocery store so he could wander around and look at the merchandise. He disappeared and she finally found him in the pet food aisle. He was horrified that Americans ate "cat food" and "dog food". That is what the labels on the cans say.

We had some Americans here who tried to make breakfast one morning, one of them found this in the fridge, a can of "leverpostei". It means liver patè. But she saw the picture of the little girl and she was a little sceptical, she wanted to know what on earth that was.