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English is weird
Morituri:
Today I learned about a Russian word. 'Pizdets' (which I have certainly misspelt since I'm not using Cyrillic) is the feeling of lurking, inevitable doom. I realize this is leaning into a stereotype, but that just seems like the sort of thing Russians would really need a word to express.
We Anglophones don't have any equally succinct way of expressing it. Although the phrase 'pucker factor' comes close.
But to the baffled speaker of Russian trying to make sense of the phrase 'pucker factor' I could not possibly explain what it has to do with kissing. Mostly because I can't talk and laugh at the same time.
Is it cold in here?:
"Pizdyets" would be a more precise transliteration.
More about the word, NSFW language:
https://waytorussia.net/WhatIsRussia/Russian/UntranslatableWords.html
Is it cold in here?:
English preposition roles are an endless source of trouble and fun.
It's normal to speak of things like an attack on Pearl Harbor, an attack on a crime victim, or an attack on democracy.
This was a headline:
--- Quote ---Knife attack on German train severely injures 3 people
--- End quote ---
And most native speakers, I believe, would automatically get the correct sense of "on", meaning on board the train, and never notice the potential mis-parse.
sitnspin:
George Carlin: "Get on the plane. Fuck you, I'm getting in the plane. Let Eviel Kineval get on the plane."
Tova:
My Chambers dictionary lists 30 distinct definitions of the proposition 'on'. Including: "In or to a position or state of being supported by."
I'm a wet blanket, I know.
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