Wait till Biggus Dickus hears of this!
OK, here's a story that I can't post over at What's Wrong with the World:
"Pakistani diplomat Miangul Akbar Zeb was recently declined accreditation as his nation's ambassador to Saudi Arabia. The problem, it seems, is that his name is a genital reference in Arabic.
"Akbar is a common Muslim name that translates to "the greatest" or "the biggest." Zeb is a relatively common Urdu name (زب) whose meaning in Arabic isn't used in polite conversation. In other words, it's a reference to the male genitals.
"That's right: In Arabic, Akbar Zeb is "the biggest dick...
Apparently, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have rejected his credentials as well."
As they say - stranger than fiction:
Hat tip
--
God help the while, a bad world I say.
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References
--~At times like these I am reminded of the immortal words of Socrates when he said...."I drank what?"
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)...he middle name was Swinging.
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)...before I posted this - but I didn't check the Monday open thread.
So you beat me to it!
Anyway, good point.
--God help the while, a bad world I say.
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| parent )Link
The Saudi story has generated much merriment here. And across the border, especially in relation to the case of Mr Dick Cheney.
Interestingly, why can't you post it "over there"? Crusaders have delicate sensibilities?
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).
--The other day I heard that ignorance and apathy are sweeping the country. I didn't know that, but I don't really care.
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| parent )The often retold Nova anecdote is an urban legend.
See:
http://www.snopes.com/business/misxlate/nova.asp
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| parent )If verisimilitude in amusing translation errors is what you crave, your cup runneth over.
--The other day I heard that ignorance and apathy are sweeping the country. I didn't know that, but I don't really care.
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| parent )
--I blame it all on the Internet
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| parent )-
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| parent )you might even call it a delicatessen.
--I blame it all on the Internet
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| parent )