International vocabulary

We were at a hostel here in Australia and a German guy looked up and said,

"What's the word in English for a song that goes around and around in your head and you can't get rid of it?"

 

A bunch of us in the kitchen looked at each other and one of the Irish guys said,

"We don't have a word for it.  We just say 'I have a song that's going around and around in my head".

 

And Nathan asked the German,

"Why, what do you call it?"

 

The answer was

"An earworm".

 

He actually didn't say "earworm", he said something in German that sounded like "earworm" and we translated. 

 

It's a good word, though, eh?  Very descriptive, and just sinister enough to describe how extremely annoying those "songs that go around and around in your head" are.  I'm going to use it.

 

The other word is pure Aussie.

 

There is a group of people here in Melbourne who swim every morning in the bay (or somewhere), rain or shine, hot or cold.  There are a number of older men who do this, though it is a group of all ages.  Apparently there was quite a stir caused by these men wearing their "budgie smugglers".

 

A "budgie smuggler" is a tight fitting Speedo.

 

I laughed for about 15 minutes after hearing that one.  But if you check the web, it's fairly common usage - they have parades, apparently, where all the men wear budgie smugglers.  Again, though, very descriptive, in a crude kind of way. 

 

I doubt though, that I will have much cause to use that one...but it's a good attention grabber.

 

It was 15 degrees in Melbourne when we arrived, which is a nice day in Dawson.  We just about froze and didn't warm up again until the mercury rose to 30.  I'm going to have to buy another sweater when we get back.  Is there anything warmer than wool?

 

I hope it's a warm spring in 2010.

ACDB