Re: They Have a Word for It!
| From: | SMITH,MARCUS ANTHONY <smithma@...> |
|---|
| Date: | Friday, August 3, 2001, 19:02 |
|---|
On Fri, 3 Aug 2001, John Cowan wrote:
> > My favourite 'untranslatable' Swedish word is _fika_, a verb, meaning roughly
> > "to chat with friends over a cup of coffee" (right, Daniel?). When I was an
> > exchange student in Sweden, we used _fika_ all the time, even when we were
> > speaking English ("You wanna go _fika_?"). Such a useful word.
>
> Wudda deprived Westerner. All New Yorkers know that the English for
> _fika_ is "shmooze".
I've always used that word for chatting with someone in authority over
you. Students shmooze with professors when they want to get on their good
side without being a kiss-ass.
Marcus
Reply