krait: a sea snake (krait) swimming (Default)
Krait ([personal profile] krait) wrote2021-01-13 10:04 am

False Friends

(In response to a thread about favourite 'false friends' in language)

I'm never going to be over the weird pile of humourous potential that is poisson | poison | das Gift | a gift.



(Edit: now with the entry date fixed!)
marinarusalka: Hermione reading (HP: knowledge is power)

[personal profile] marinarusalka 2021-01-13 05:47 pm (UTC)(link)
My personal favorite is embarazada|embarrassed .
isis: (craptastic squid by scarah)

[personal profile] isis 2021-01-13 07:25 pm (UTC)(link)
Ahaha that is really great - I knew the two halves but never thought about putting them together like that!
ride_4ever: (RCW 139 2014)

[personal profile] ride_4ever 2021-01-13 07:32 pm (UTC)(link)
When I was in Canada for the RCW 139 due South con, a fangirl from Europe who meant to say "where can I buy poutine" said "where can I buy putain". (Good thing she said that amidst fen and not out on the street to some passerby.)
angledge: (polar bear on back)

[personal profile] angledge 2021-01-13 07:35 pm (UTC)(link)
In American English, pants are an outer layer of clothing for your legs, like jeans or slacks.
In British English, pants are an inner layer; specifically, it refers to underpants.
In American English, khaki is a brown color.
In British Englihs, khaki means shitty.

So apparently, GAP's "khaki pants" advertisement campaign was a real hoot in the UK.
southerncontinentskies: (Default)

[personal profile] southerncontinentskies 2021-01-14 05:11 am (UTC)(link)
I'm now thinking of a multilingual "Kuzco's poison" meme that quickly devolves into a "who's on first" routine, but unfortunately I'm not clever enough to write it myself.