Sometimes lost in translation moments are hilarious.

We’re quite used to being illiterate, and unable to communicate by conventional means. With creativity, we figure it out. Sign language goes a long way; as does smiling. Once we were at a complete impasse, only to have a little thai lady whip out her ipad, pull up google translate and before long we were all laughing and “talking” back and forth. Technology is a beautiful thing.

And then there are those english-to-english lost in translation moments when you realize that something isn’t quite right. In which you find yourself grasping at the end of a literacy rope that’s slipping through your fingers and you realize that you’re about to drown in a very deep sea of confusion and, most probably, embarrassment too!

Case in point:

It was our first long day of cycling on our bike trip. We rode out of London and past Windsor Castle. It was an idyllic day. Tony’s friend Tim met us half way and rode us to his home, where we were to spend a few days getting to know his family and touring the countryside. It wasn’t a long ride, but it felt it. I was dragging Ez behind me on his trail-a-bike, and fully loaded, my rig weighed more than I did. I hadn’t found my groove yet.

We rolled into Tim’s yard and the kids tumbled from their bike seats all over the grass, rolling around, and relaxing. I unfastened my helmet and lifted my posterior gently off of the bike seat, “Whew! What a ride, my fanny is sore!” I smiled. Instantly I knew that something was amiss. Tim, the epitome of polite English manhood didn’t say a word, but I notice his eyes widen just a smidge and he cocked his head to the side ever so slightly. I registered the change, but it passed as quickly as it had come and we had a lovely afternoon.

Too much a gentleman to embarrass me, Tim whispered to Tony, later, “I know what she meant, I get it, I’ve spent time in America. But you might want to mention to your wife that “fanny” doesn’t mean “backside” on this side of the pond…” I nearly died of mortification when he told me.

I was laughing about that with Jacqui the other day after she’d given us a present:

The Australian Slang Dictionary: The essential guide for all international visitors.

It’s her contribution to our international linguistics education.

Selections include:

“She’s got kangaroos loose in the upper paddock!” …. she’s crazy
“bickie”… biscuit… cookie
“bluey” … nickname for someone with red hair (???)
“bum nuts” … eggs
“Let’s Captain Cook it!” … let’s have a look
“carpet grubs”… children
“driza-bone” … waterproof jacket
“get a wriggle on”… hurry up
“do your lolly” … lose your temper
“shark biscuit”… new surfers
“shoot a fairy”… fart
“face like a festered pickle”… has acne
“off like a bucket of prawns in the sun”… to leave quickly

Those are the clean ones, there are many more that are side-splittingly hilarious! Incidentally, if I’d had this book in the UK, it would have sorted me out on my faux-pas with Tim.

We keep flipping through the book and finding new things to giggle over. What are your favourite “lost in translation” moments?