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Articles for Talk Like a Local
Shboots and Trashion: Fashion Slang
September 16, 2009 | Talk Like a Local | Read More
Spend fashion week in Milan and not only will your head be reeling from the fantastical clothes, the over-the-top makeup and the stick-thinness of the models, but also from the fashion slang you hear spewing from the attendees’ mouths. Read on for some words that will help you keep up with Anna...
Talk Like a Local: Coffee Slang
September 9, 2009 | Talk Like a Local | Read More
The molecular formula for caffeine is C8H10N4O2…but you probably call your morning brew something a little bit different. Baristas (like the one pictured here at the original Pike Place Market Starbucks back in 1977), sippers and coffee aficionados around the world have slang terms for their favorite...
Talk Like a Local: Obscure Exercise Around the World
September 2, 2009 | Talk Like a Local | Read More
The term “jogging” was introduced to the English-speaking world in 1593 in William Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew. The idea of running as exercise didn’t really take hold until the 1600s, during which a small, eccentric portion of the population continued to practice it, until...
Talk Like a Local: Family Slang
August 25, 2009 | Talk Like a Local | Read More
Every culture has its own version of slang, whether it’s expletives, cheers or words that allude to an unsavory topic. Something we all know, but probably haven’t thought much about, is the slang that develops within a family. Author Paul Dickinson has written an entire book on the phenomenon,...
Talk Like a Local: Tech Support
August 19, 2009 | Talk Like a Local | Read More
As our various technological gadgets (cell phones, GPS units, laptops, etc) become travel necessities rather than luxuries, it’s become equally important to be able to troubleshoot on the road – even in different countries. Read on for how to get tech support in some of the most common languages...
Talk Like a Local: Shakespeare’s Slang
August 12, 2009 | Talk Like a Local | Read More
Slang has been around as long as human language has existed. Surprisingly, one of slang’s most fruitful time periods was the Elizabethan age. During that time, England’s prolific Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, John Donne and even Queen Elizabeth herself created some of the most revered...
Talk Like a Local: Shark Alert
August 5, 2009 | Talk Like a Local | Read More
It’s only fair: they’ll take you on a whale watching tour, teach you how to surf and help you catch a 30-pound swordfish to hang above your fireplace.
The least you can do is warn them when you see a shark. Read on for how to tell the locals that a big, carnivorous animal is headed their...
Talk Like a Local: Can I Have a Beer?
July 29, 2009 | Talk Like a Local | Read More
It’s a fairly basic request, and one that is probably heard millions of times a day around the world. On Friday and Saturday nights, maybe a couple million. Whatever country you’re in, you should know how to ask for a tall cold one. Read on for how to (politely) ask for a beer in many, many...
Talk Like a Local: Le Tour de France
July 22, 2009 | Talk Like a Local | Read More
Europeans are known for their creative use of language. When I was 8 and visiting Germany with my mother, her cousin Barbara drove us to Berlin for some sightseeing. Someone cut her off, and she yelled something explosive.
“What’d she say?” I asked my mom.
“She called him a toilet...
Talk Like a Local: Mountain Man Edition
July 15, 2009 | Talk Like a Local | Read More
National Parks draw the most rugged of tourists: the hardcore backpackers, climbers, hikers and extreme outdoor enthusiasts. They show up with plans to not just see Half Dome, but to get to the top. Not to take a picture of the Papagayp River Canyon, but to raft that sucker. These are people who know...
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