Sunday, 12 May 2013

Las palabras - the truth

We had another great time with words, this time in Spanish, even though many people knew what they really meant. The definitions and the stories are quite funny:

View_From_Here

Pared = peeled fruit
Oruga = intricate dance
Codo = a colorful flightless bird
Uña = similar to seedless grapes
Gorojo = a baseball cap
Sandia = a peasant girl that had a divine vision in 1643
Manguera = the proper name for what is referred to as a 'mangle'
Roble = Upper class street people
Cepillo = Ruffled socks

Used in a sentence:

1. "mrsgunka, here's some apples that I have already PARED for a pie"
2. "I learned how to dance the Spanish ORUGA down at the Senior Center!"
3. "Illegal poachers have just about wiped out the Crested CODO in this area"
4. "Have you tried fresh-picked UÑA'S on your oatmeal?"
5. "Your new GOROJO brings out the color of your eyes."
6. "The church is celebrating Saint SANDIA day."
7. "Plug in the MANGUERA so TW can iron those sheets!"
8. "The riff-raff and ROBLE are about to revolt!"
9. "Those are sure cute CEPILLOS Maria is wearing!"

Sleuth

Pared = the condition of having crossed Paris off your bucket list
Oruga = a klaxon horn to warn of rampaging lettuce
Codo = rabid musical notation
Uña = a tiny onion
Gorgojo = Topo Gigio's big adventure
Sandía = a day at the beach
Manguera = cloud of cat hair
Roble = half of a sexy Latin dance
Cepillo = a garden pest

My story (with accompanying illustration of the world famous Topo Gigio!):


Topo Gigo's Big Gorgojo in Paris

Topo Gigio, in order to top up his chef skills, went to Paris in search of the famous yet elusive Uña.

But first, he stopped at the beach at the French Riviera for a brief Sandía, where he also learned, much to his dismay, about pickpockets whilst twirling and dipping in a traditional Roble.

On to Gay Paree, where dear Topo started visiting kitchen gardens for the elusive yet intoxicating Uña.

Sadly, at the very.first.garden a vigilant Cepillo sounded a Codo, erupting into a full-blown Oruga as the resident watchcat exploded into an almost nuclear Manguera.

Thus, poor Topo Gigio, was able to mark his card "Pared" whilst thinking..."I should have gone to Spain instead..."

Betzy

Pared = couple
Oruga = Model T
Codo = allergy
Una = halfmoon
Gorgojo = obesity
Sandia = solar
Manguera = heterosexual couple
Roble = criminal
Cepillo = bedtime

Mrsgunka

Pared - Ladies choice at a dance
Codo - the little lines on the bottom of everything at the grocery store that they scan for price and inventory control
Una - total moon eclipse
Gorgojo - over eating
Sandia - toilet paper
Manguera - men's restroom - the one with the pants
Roble - a fancy beach robe worn after you get out of the water
Cepillo - a soap infused steel wool pot cleaner: also, too, a fancy decorative sofa pillow, not to be used for the head - look but don't touch!

Ripley

1- Pared: My daddy after a day in the sun.
2- Oruga: The sound my daddy's car makes when he presses the horn
3- Codo: There was a farmer had a fish and Codo was his name-o.
4-Una: What Aussies say when they think you did something well "Good Uña"
5- Gorgojo: A mixture of cheese and coffee
6- Sandia: a country just south of India
7- Manguera: a type of men's garment
8- Roble: a small robe
9- Cepillo: Ze thing Zat you put your head on when you go to Ze bed.

GrannyJ

Next month we will celebrate my daughter’s wedding. There will be a big pared with lots of music, wine and dancing. Mike and I will dance the gorgojo. I hope he will not break his codo - we are not as young as we used to be. The Sandia will flow and I plan to get a little oruga and flirt with the bartender Roble. I might even pinch his Cepillo- ; ). I am planning to wear a beautiful manguera on my head. It will be una hell of a great time.

*****

The stories and definitions gain a very special quality when you know the real meaning of the words:

Pared - Wall

Oruga - Caterpillar

Codo  - Elbow

Uña - Nail

Gorgojo - Weevil

Sandia - Watermelon (also known as Pastèque)

Manguera - Hose

Roble - Oak

Cepillo - Brush

I'm sure GrannyJ will look very elegant with a manguera on her head at her daughter's wedding...

[MrsG, in the previous thread I said two items were edible. They are the watermelon and - depending on personal tastes-  nails!]

Saturday, 11 May 2013

La palabras - Another silly game


We're going to play the word game in Spanish this time. I selected nine "palabras" and you suggest your definition for each in English. Again, the object of the game is to be creative and amusing, not to get the words right. Spanish speakers can join in, as long as their suggestions are silly and inaccurate.

It may be fun to make your lists, then use all the words in a sentence.

Enjoy!

1) Pared
2) Oruga
3) Codo
4) Uña
5) Gorgojo
6) Sandía
7) Manguera
8) Roble
9) Cepillo

Friday, 10 May 2013

Recycling ideas

Mrsgunka sent us these brilliant ideas for recycling all types of objects. Thank you, MrsG.


















Thursday, 9 May 2013

Silly stuff

I found some silly things I jotted down nearly ten years ago and as I couldn't remember the majority of them, it goes to prove that my memory is not what it used to be...

They are old, but still quite funny:

If lawyers are disbarred, clergymen defrocked, doesn't it follow that electricians are delighted, musicians denoted, cowboys deranged, models deposed and dry-cleaners depressed?

***

Are part-time band leaders semi-conductors?

***

Why do fat chance and slim chance mean the same thing?

***

Why do they call it instant credit when it really means instant debt?

***

How do you know when it's time to tune your bagpipes?

***

The trouble with learning from experience is that the test comes first, then the lesson...

***

Paper clip: The larval stage of coat hangers.




















***

Laziness: Resting before you get tired.

***

Gambling: The sure way to get nothing for something.

***

Committee: A group of people who keep minutes and waste hours.

***

Neither teenagers nor cats turn their heads when you call them by name.

***

Heaven is where the police are British, the cooks are French, the engineers are German, the administrators are Swiss and the lovers are Italian. Hell is where the police are German, the cooks are British, the engineers are Italian, the administrators are French and the lovers are Swiss.

***

And God said: "Let there be vodka!" And He saw that it was good. Then He said: "Let there be light!"  then He quickly said "Whoa, too much light!"

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Why be difficult? Put some effort into it and be impossible!

***

Let's end the post with a cartoon:




Wednesday, 8 May 2013

Cats and dogs

I've been collecting these photos for a while. Now that I have enough of them, it's time to share...











Tuesday, 7 May 2013

Des mots - The truth behind them


Your definitions of the "mots" were hilarious. Here are some examples:

Conscious at last!

Pasteque - pasta that you have to wait on a long line to buy
Gazon - gadget that tells you when your fuel is low
Cafard - gastro-intestinal emission
Chouette - AHH. Chu!
Ramoneur - one who only dates Ramons
Chauve-souris - a shave so close you almost lost your smile

Amy

Pastèque - Twinkie
Gazon - Stink
Cafard - Cyst
Chouette - Flyswatter
Frelon - Ruffle
Chauve-souris - Argle-bargle
Robinet - Burglar
Vis - Gristle
Ramoneur - Gumchewer

Betzy

Pasteque - duct tape
Gazon - Looky Lou's
Cafard - constipated
Chouette - eat
Frelon - turf grass
Chauve-souris - apologies
Robinet - chesty
Vis - p's and q's
Ramoneur - fertilizer

View_From_Here

Pasteque - non-permanent beauty "patches"
Gazon - A group of homosexuals staring at each other.
Cafard - bad air trapped under your Caftan
Chouette - kibble for miniature poodles
Frelon - 'captured' gas used in car air conditioners (see Cafard)
Chauve-souris - A social gathering (with wine) for machos
Robinet - an unhatched bird egg
Vis - The abbreviation for Blog Lurkers (European in origin)
Ramoneur - Ramon's special fertilizer (similar to 'ErnaEarth')

Sleuth decided to use all the words in a sentence. Here are her two versions:

After a very long night of dining on Ramoneur, the Frelons of the Chauve-souris decided to breakfast on Robinets and Chouettes washed down with Cafard, but found they required many applications of Vis after learning they had inadvertently Gazon-ed on the eye-scorching Pastèque instead of wine labels.

***

She sneeringly glared upon the elitist wine labels at the Chauve-souris, but mirrors cracked in the process, throwing the Pastèque gazon throughout the room like a laserlight show gone mad, stultifying the gay Frelons; some dropped their Robinets as they were lifted to lips and Chouettes hardened in midchew; as glasses of Cafard shattered on the floor, it became horrifyingly apparent to all...there was not enough Vis in the universe to make the horrid antidote known as Ramoneur look remotely edible, even if it meant escape.

Amy and Mrsgunka followed suit:

Amy:

"Pastèque!" shouted the old man, waving his fist, upon almost being sideswiped by an even older bicycliste.

"Gazon! GAZON!" screamed the bicycliste back at him. "You are a true Cafard! A Chouette!!! Your kind should be frelon-ed in the Chauve-souris. Yes!"

Never at a loss, our first old man let loose: "May the robinet vis your ramoneur! Oui! It is what you deserve."

Having both cleared their sinuses, as they did in this exact same way every morning, each one went his way. With a smile. Thinking about the checkers the two men would play tonight after dinner, as they did each night, with each other...

Mrsgunka:

I just know, my get up and go has got up and gazon! Just put in two batches of frelon in the ramoneur. When it's done I'll throw on the chouette, fix the pasteque and pour the chauve-souris. Pass the cafard, say grace and all will be well again. Vis? Robinet anyone?

[There are more definitions dotted around on the last thread.]

The true definitions will have you laughing at the creative efforts above. The thought of drinking cafards makes me shudder!

Pastèque - Watermelon

Gazon - Lawn

Cafard - Cockroach

Chouette - Owl

Frelon - Hornet

Chauve-souris - Bat (chauve = bald, souris = mouse)

Robinet - Faucet

Vis - Screw

Ramoneur - Chimney-sweep

[I mentioned Baldilocks as a nickname for and old "friend." I came across the word when looking up "chauve," which means bald. It's also used as a pejorative term, i.e., baldilocks!]