Toujours Tingo: Extraordinary Words to Change the Way We See the World [Paperback]

Intriguing and wonderful... a fascinating insight into other cultures.

An extraordinary book, exploring the areas where English fails us... try these weird and wonderful words on for size.

It's hard not to like a book that has tongue-twisters in nine languages.

Did you know, that in Germany a young man with suspiciously good manners is called Tantenverfurhrer (literally, aunt seducer), that in Namibia there is a word for walking on tiptoe through warm sand or that, in Welsh, gwarlingo is the rushing sound a grandfather clock makes before striking the hour. Whether you are physiggomai (Ancient Greek - excited by eating garlic) or knedlikovy (Czech - rather partial to dumplings) there are words here to charm and amuse everyone. Drawing on the collective wisdom of over 280 languages and packed with charming illustrations, Toujours Tingo is the perfect book for anyone interested in words, language or the world around them.

The Meaning of Tingo, Adam Jacot de Boinod's bestselling collection of bizarre and brilliant words from around the world, was acclaimed as:


`Absolutely delicious' Stephen Fry


`A luscious list of linguistic one-liners' Daily Express


`Very funny' Independent on Sunday

Now he's back with far more, from gwarlingo (Welsh - the rushing sound a grandfather clock makes before striking the hour ) to magimiks belong Yesus (Tok Pisin - a helicopter) to Tantenverführer (German - a young man with suspiciously good manners). Oh, and Tingo is an Easter Island word meaning to borrow objects from a friend's house one by one until there are none left ...

Adam Jacot de Boinod’s interest in foreign languages was first aroused when doing research for the BBC programme QI and subsequently developed into a full-on vokabulyu (Russian - passion for foreign words). While searching through 280 dictionaries, 140 websites and numerous books on language, he developed an undoubted samlermani (Danish - mania for collecting), became close to being fisselig (German - flustered to the point of incompetence) and narrowly avoided karoshi (Japanese - death from overwork). He is now intending to nglayap (Indonesian - wander far from home with no particular purpose).

All languages have evocative expressions for being drunk...

sternhagelvoll (German) full of stars and hail

rangi-changi (Nepalese) slightly too multi-coloured

etre rond comme une bille (French) to be as round as a marble

redlos (Swedish) free ride

andlar cacheteando la banqueta (Mexican Spanish) to go along with one's cheek on the pavement

...and for the inevitable results of overdoing it...

khukhurhuteka (Tsonga, South Africa) to walk uncertainly, as a drunk man among people seated on the floor

midabodaboka (Malagasy, Madagascar) to fall over frequently, as drunken men or people on a slippery road

mawibi (Ojibway, North America) drunken weeping

Backhendfriedhof (Austrian German) a beer belly (literally, cemetary for fried chickens)

ne govori ou samoi muzh piatnisa (Russian) a shrug of understanding when sharing someone else's problems (literally, no need to explain, my husband is a drunk)