This was the third year that I (kind of) declared October Untranslatables Month on my Twitter feed. (Here's 2011 and here's 2012.) Instead of offering a 'Difference of the Day', I offered an 'Untranslatable of the Day'. Except that I started on the 7th of October and occasionally I forgot to do it. (And I don't do 'of the Day' posts on weekends anymore either.) So maybe month is a bit of an exaggeration.
[Now that my union is on strike, I've finally got(ten) (a)round to writing up the summary. If it weren't for the fact that I'm not supposed to be doing work today, my work would be preventing me from blogging still. Next term should be better in terms of not drowning in (BrE) marking/(AmE) grading and quality control exercises all the time, and so there is hope that I will blog again, even if the academic pay dispute is settled.]
Now, before the complaints start, here are the Untranslatables Month facts:
- I'm only talking about the relationship between British and American English here (as is my theme). These expressions may well have equivalents in other languages or dialects.
- By Untranslatable I mean that there is no lexicali{z/s}ed equivalent in the other dialect. And by lexicali{z/s}ed I mean that the expression is a word or an idiom--something that language users learn through hearing others say it, rather than something that one makes up anew. One can translate things by making up new sentences or phrases that describe the same thing, sure. But it's special when a language has lexicali{z/s}ed an expression for something--it tells us something about the culture that invented and uses that expression.
- Many of these have started to be borrowed between the dialects--and that's natural. If it's a useful expression and the other dialect doesn't have it, it's a prime candidate for international migration.
- AmE buyer's remorse: 'regret felt after a purchase'. [Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary definition]. Suggested by @flipdrivel
- BrE chugger: Disparaging term for person whose job is stopping people on the street to ask for donations to a cause. It's a blend of charity and mugger. Chuggers are usually asking people to sign up for a Direct Debit to their charity (which is much more common in UK than US).
- AmE to make nice: To try to be friendly/cooperative (with someone)--often because you've been told to do so. [Collins definition]
- BrE in old money: in pre-decimalized currency and now also 'in non-metric measures' or in any other 'old' kind of measurement. For example, 'What's 16°C in old money?'. [Down the Lane blog's post]
- BrE the curate's egg: something bad in parts, good in parts, often euphemistically used: [Wikipedia entry] Suggested by Alan.
- AmE through when used to link two time-designations and means 'to the end of', e.g. May through July. Suggested by @maceochi. But @AntHeald reminded us that there's a UK dialectal equivalent in while, which was discussed in the comments at this old post on whilst.
- BrE cheeky. Suggested by many who saw this BBC Magazine article about the Britishness of it. It's made inroads into AmE, thanks in particular to Mike Myers.
- AmE furlough, which is discussed at Philip Gooden's blog from a UK perspective. (Gooden translates furlough into BrE as unpaid leave, but that seems too broad. So we'll call it an untranslatable.) Suggested by @timgrant123
- BrE adjectival sprung: 'having springs'. You can translate it into AmE with a prepositional phrase, but that's not the same as having a word for it. E.g. BrE sprung mattress (AmE innerspring mattress), BrE sprung saddle (i.e. a bike seat with springs).
- AmE to run interference: US football metaphor: 'to intervene on someone's behalf'. [Oxford Dictionaries Online definition] Suggested by @NeilPBardhan
- BrE to fancy: 'to like someone romantically/physically; to have a bit of a crush on'. Snaffled from @btransatlantic's blog post
- AmE kick the can down the road: 'defer conclusive action by means of a short-term fix'. [Grammarist's post on this] Compare BrE kick into the long grass, which means to put something aside, hoping it'll be forgotten. Suggested by @patricox
- BrE (though sure many USers know it) plummy: 'having a "posh" accent'. Speaks volumes about accent and social place in the UK.
- AmE dude. As in this Bud Light ad(vert). Discussed at Mental Floss.
- BrE blinder: something dazzlingly good or difficult. Discussed on this blog, some time ago. Suggested by KF
- AmE howdy: suggested by DL, who says there's no BrE equivalent "in terms of exuberance".
- BrE jolly hockey sticks: adjective used to describe a female of high social class who is enthusiastic in a way that annoys people. For example, this television review describes a coroner's "jolly-hockey-sticks attitude towards death". My definition owes much to Cambridge Dictionaries Online. The OED has an appeal for information about its origins. Suggested by @philviner
- AmE to eyeball (it): 'to estimate a measurement without a measuring tool'. My 2008 post on it.
- AmE to take the fifth: to not speak because to do so may incriminate you. From the 5th amendment of US constitution. Suggested by @SamAreRandom
Each year I say I won't do an Untranslatable Month again, so maybe this will be the last one. Or maybe not!