Lapsus

Lapsus is a fairly widely used term in Finnish. I just found out that you can also use it in English (or can you?) - why not - any Latin term works just great with English (and makes you sound super smart). The funny thing is that I never knew that it is a Latin term. In Finnish it sounds very much like the word "lapsi" which means "a child" and hence I always imagined that lapsus is just derived from child - it is a childish mistake.

panting

[A special report from Finland]

I've been panting all these years without knowing that I was panting.
Although, while I'm on this side of the Atlantic, it should be called trousering.

Caruncle

Since I own a car and since I have two nephews - I must be a caruncle. Not especially flattering.

Reach

There seems to be a slight difference in the way that Finns and Americans think about reaching for things. While in Finland:


"The one who reaches for the spruce tree...


...will fall onto the juniper"

in America they recommend you:

"Reach for the stars!"

Wedgie

As defined in Wiktionary: Noun, 1. (slang) A prank in which a person's underpants are pulled up sharply from behind in order to wedge the clothing uncomfortably between the person's buttocks

This belong to the category of expressions that I didn't really need to learn - and yet I wish I could start the elementary school all over again and launch this noble activity in Finland.

Fuel Economy

I suppose this guy likes flags.

Tennis Balls

Oh my - now I've been in America so long that I can't even tell if this is something that they only do here, or whether they do the same thing in Finland. I feel like every single walker I see around here has tennis balls stuck under the back legs. I suppose they are there to make the legs glide easier (for those not familiar with these devices: the front legs have wheels). It is mind boggling that this issue has not been solved in the design of the walkers. Do these people decide every morning whether they put them on depending on the weather or something?

Let's write american!

Dukes

I recently learned this great expression "put your dukes up" which means: raise your fists, prepare to fight (yes, has come in handy on a daily basis). Then - not long afterwards - I learned that John Wayne was called the Duke.

Cartoon Cornucopia

I'm taking part in New York public Radio's Thanksgiving Day cartoon competition .


Idea developed with Heta. Thank you very many!

For those of you not so familiar with Thanksgiving Day in New York: Macy's parade

Groups

Greeting

burgers

It is very difficult to learn that burger, in American, can mean both a steak within two pieces of bread and the steak on its own. A mushroom burger means (at least at the Metro Diner) a steak and some mushrooms placed within a roll. I got a veggie burger instead, which was vegetarian to my great delight.

Scarsdale Metro Rest & Diner, 878 Scarsdale Ave, Scarsdale, NY

nuts and washer