A Cache of Languages

Little did I know my new hobby has some relevance to linguistics...

I recently decided to try Geocaching because of my love for the outdoors and hiking. Right away I was introduced to the language of Geocaching through its Glossary of Terms (many initialisms).

It wasn't until I found this adorable fellow that I discovered there is more to Geocaching than meets the language-loving tongue.

Here are his tags -

In English:

In French:

And in German (his first language):

P.S. I will not mention the prescriptivist issue with Volker's tag.

Word Play - Sponsored by the German Porn Industry

Spotted this at TYWKIWDBI.







Witness the zaniness when the back door opens on a travel bus from reputable family business "Pommerntourist"[1]. The letters "m", "m" and "e" disappear leaving the dubious name "Porntourist.

BILD [2] contacted Pommerntourist. Owner Beatrice Springmann (38) laughed: "I already know why you're calling! We only noticed once our passengers pointed it out. We cannot stick anything different on the bus, so it will stay like this for now."

[1] lit: "Pomeranian Tourist" - Pommern = region in East Germany http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomerania
[2] Largest (by far) German tabloid http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bild#Criticism


Explanation from BILD translated by TYWKIWDBI reader Dirac.

Plus de L’esprit de l'escalier

More on the wit of the staircase -

L'esprit de l'escalier (or l'esprit d'escalier) (staircase wit) is thinking of a clever comeback when it is too late. The phrase can be used to describe a riposte to an insult or any witty remark that comes to mind too late to be useful—after one has left the scene of the encounter. The phenomenon is usually accompanied by a feeling of regret at not having thought of it when it was most needed or suitable.
The German word Treppenwitz and the Yiddish word trepverter are used to express the same idea. One prominent example of the German term is W. Lewis Hertslet's 1882 book Treppenwitz der Weltgeschichte ("Staircase wit of world history").

From Wikipedia

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