Seldom Used Words (Cont'd)

Welcome, LucyH. Nice to have you aboard.

A very Merry Christmas to All and this is how Merry Christmas is said around the world;

Afrikaans: Geseënde Kersfees
Afrikander: Een Plesierige Kerfees
African/ Eritrean/ Tigrinja: Rehus-Beal-Ledeats
Albanian:Gezur Krislinjden
Arabic: Milad Majid
Argentine: Feliz Navidad
Armenian: Shenoraavor Nor Dari yev Pari Gaghand
Azeri: Tezze Iliniz Yahsi Olsun
Bahasa Malaysia: Selamat Hari Natal
Basque: Zorionak eta Urte Berri On!
Bengali: Shuvo Naba Barsha
Bohemian: Vesele Vanoce
Bosnian: (BOSANSKI) Cestit Bozic i Sretna Nova godina
Brazilian: Feliz Natal
Breton: Nedeleg laouen na bloavezh mat
Bulgarian: Tchestita Koleda; Tchestito Rojdestvo Hristovo
Catalan: Bon Nadal i un Bon Any Nou!
Chile: Feliz Navidad
Chinese: (Cantonese) Gun Tso Sun Tan'Gung Haw Sun
Chinese: (Mandarin) Sheng Dan Kuai Le
Choctaw: Yukpa, Nitak Hollo Chito
Columbia: Feliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo
Cornish: Nadelik looan na looan blethen noweth
Corsian: Pace e salute
Crazanian: Rot Yikji Dol La Roo
Cree: Mitho Makosi Kesikansi
Croatian: Sretan Bozic
Czech: Prejeme Vam Vesele Vanoce a stastny Novy Rok
Danish: Glædelig Jul
Duri: Christmas-e- Shoma Mobarak
Dutch: Vrolijk Kerstfeest en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar! or Zalig Kerstfeast
English: Merry Christmas
Eskimo: (inupik) Jutdlime pivdluarit ukiortame pivdluaritlo!
Esperanto: Gajan Kristnaskon
Estonian: Rõõmsaid Jõulupühi
Ethiopian: (Amharic) Melkin Yelidet Beaal
Faeroese: Gledhilig jol og eydnurikt nyggjar!
Farsi: Cristmas-e-shoma mobarak bashad
Finnish: Hyvaa joulua
Flemish: Zalig Kerstfeest en Gelukkig nieuw jaar
French: Joyeux Noel
Frisian: Noflike Krystdagen en in protte Lok en Seine yn it Nije Jier!
Galician: Bo Nada
Gaelic: Nollaig chridheil agus Bliadhna mhath ùr!
German: Fröhliche Weihnachten
Greek: Kala Christouyenna!
Haiti: (Creole) Jwaye Nowel or to Jesus Edo Bri'cho o Rish D'Shato Brichto
Hausa: Barka da Kirsimatikuma Barka da Sabuwar Shekara!
Hawaiian: Mele Kalikimaka
Hebrew: Mo'adim Lesimkha. Chena tova
Hindi: Shub Naya Baras (good New Year not Merry Christmas)
Hungarian: Boldog Karácsonyt
Icelandic: Gledileg Jol
Indonesian: Selamat Hari Natal
Iraqi: Idah Saidan Wa Sanah Jadidah
Irish: Nollaig Shona Dhuit, or Nodlaig mhaith chugnat
Iroquois: Ojenyunyat Sungwiyadeson honungradon nagwutut. Ojenyunyat osrasay.
Italian: Buone Feste Natalizie
Japanese: Shinnen omedeto. Kurisumasu Omedeto
Jiberish: Mithag Crithagsigathmithags
Korean: Sung Tan Chuk Ha
Kurdish: Serî sallî nwê pîroz
Lao: souksan van Christmas
Latin: Natale hilare et Annum Faustum!
Latvian: Prieci'gus Ziemsve'tkus un Laimi'gu Jauno Gadu!
Lausitzian:Wjesole hody a strowe nowe leto
Lettish: Priecigus Ziemassvetkus
Lithuanian: Linksmu Kaledu
Low Saxon: Heughliche Winachten un 'n moi Nijaar
Luxembourgish: Schèine Chreschtdaag an e gudde Rutsch
Macedonian: Sreken Bozhik
Maltese: IL-Milied It-tajjeb
Manx: Nollick ghennal as blein vie noa
Maori: Meri Kirihimete
Marathi: Shub Naya Varsh (good New Year not Merry Christmas)
Navajo: Merry Keshmish
Norwegian: God Jul, or Gledelig Jul
Occitan: Pulit nadal e bona annado
Papiamento: Bon Pasco
Papua New Guinea: Bikpela hamamas blong dispela Krismas na Nupela yia i go long yu
Pennsylvania German: En frehlicher Grischtdaag un en hallich Nei Yaahr!
Peru: Feliz Navidad y un Venturoso Año Nuevo
Philippines: Maligayang Pasko!
Polish: Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia or Boze Narodzenie
Portuguese:Feliz Natal
Pushto: Christmas Aao Ne-way Kaal Mo Mobarak Sha
Rapa-Nui (Easter Island): Mata-Ki-Te-Rangi. Te-Pito-O-Te-Henua
Rhetian: Bellas festas da nadal e bun onn
Romanche: (sursilvan dialect): Legreivlas fiastas da Nadal e bien niev onn!
Rumanian: Sarbatori vesele or Craciun fericit
Russian: Pozdrevlyayu s prazdnikom Rozhdestva is Novim Godom
Sami: Buorrit Juovllat
Samoan: La Maunia Le Kilisimasi Ma Le Tausaga Fou
Sardinian: Bonu nadale e prosperu annu nou
Scots Gaelic: Nollaig Chridheil dhuibh
Serbian: Hristos se rodi.
Singhalese: Subha nath thalak Vewa. Subha Aluth Awrudhak Vewa
Slovak: Vesele Vianoce. A stastlivy Novy Rok
Slovene: Vesele Bozicne Praznike Srecno Novo Leto or Vesel Bozic in srecno Novo leto
Spanish: Feliz Navidad
Swedish: God Jul and (Och) Ett Gott Nytt År
Switzerland (Swiss-German): Schöni Wienachte
Tagalog: Maligayamg Pasko. Masaganang Bagong Taon
Tamil: (Tamizh) Nathar Puthu Varuda Valthukkal (good New Year not Merry Christmas)
Trukeese: (Micronesian) Neekiriisimas annim oo iyer seefe feyiyeech!
Thai: Sawadee Pee Mai or souksan wan Christmas
Turkish: Noeliniz Ve Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun
Ukrainian: Z Rizdvom Khrystovym or S rozhdestvom Kristovym
Urdu: Naya Saal Mubarak Ho (good New Year not Merry Christmas)
Vietnamese: Chuc Mung Giang Sinh
Welsh: Nadolig Llawen
Yoruba: E ku odun, e ku iye'dun!
 
Dram: 1/16 of an ounce (avoirdupois) by weight, an ounce of liquid, particularly of liquor (basically, a shot-glass of booze).
 
1sickbastard, I could use a dram or two right about now.

nuisance tax - noun an excise tax collected in small amounts directly from the consumer
 
Dram: 1/16 of an ounce (avoirdupois) by weight, an ounce of liquid, particularly of liquor (basically, a shot-glass of booze).

And a 'minim' is one sixteenth of that, I believe.

1sickbastard, I could use a dram or two right about now.

nuisance tax - noun an excise tax collected in small amounts directly from the consumer

Very like our Value Added Tax (VAT).
:)
 
Yes, indeed, taxes are a nuisance and I thought it was great that someone called them that. Here in California it is especially so, but our neighbor to the north, Oregon, has NO SALES TAX. Lots of my friends make the hour drive north to shop in Oregon, of course.

The California sales tax rate is 7.5%, and the maximum CA sales tax after local surtaxes is 9.75%.
◾Groceries and prescription drugs are exempt from the California sales tax
◾Counties and cities can charge an additional local sales tax of up to 2.25%
◾California has 2558 special sales tax jurisdictions with local sales taxes in addition to the state sales tax
◾California has a higher state sales tax than 100% of states

California has one of the highest sales tax rates in the country, and had the highest for years until a tax reduction in July 2011. Cities and municipalities can charge an additional local sales tax (known as a "District Tax") on top of the California state sales tax, which means California residents can pay as much as 10% combined state and local sales tax on their purchases. The California sales tax is as high as it is, relative to the other states, as compensation for reduced property taxes in California (which were introduced by Proposition 13 in 1978).

I will post a word in a while...
 
Yes, indeed, taxes are a nuisance and I thought it was great that someone called them that. Here in California it is especially so, but our neighbor to the north, Oregon, has NO SALES TAX. Lots of my friends make the hour drive north to shop in Oregon, of course.

The California sales tax rate is 7.5%, and the maximum CA sales tax after local surtaxes is 9.75%.
◾Groceries and prescription drugs are exempt from the California sales tax
◾Counties and cities can charge an additional local sales tax of up to 2.25%
◾California has 2558 special sales tax jurisdictions with local sales taxes in addition to the state sales tax
◾California has a higher state sales tax than 100% of states

California has one of the highest sales tax rates in the country, and had the highest for years until a tax reduction in July 2011. Cities and municipalities can charge an additional local sales tax (known as a "District Tax") on top of the California state sales tax, which means California residents can pay as much as 10% combined state and local sales tax on their purchases. The California sales tax is as high as it is, relative to the other states, as compensation for reduced property taxes in California (which were introduced by Proposition 13 in 1978).

I will post a word in a while...


This makes me think that the EU VAT would be a godsend to all, accountants included, in California. Incidentally, the 'nipping over the Border' tax avoidance scheme is, or maybe was, used in Ireland.
 
Handley, I am certain there is a better way of handling sales tax in California, but, for now, it is what it is and I have learned to live with it.

But, our minimum wage is one of the highest in the country;

California's minimum wage is $8.00 per hour. This is greater than the Federal Minimum Wage.

In September 2013 California passed House Bill AB10, which approved the first minimum wage raise for Californians in six years. The bill will raise the California Minimum Wage to $9.00 per hour effective July 2014, and to $10.00 per hour effective January 2016. The highest minimum wage in the United States is currently $9.19 per hour in Washington state.

California has one of the highest state minimum wage rates, and the San Francisco minimum wage of $10.24 per hour is the highest minimum wage in the United States. Unlike many other states, tipped employees in California are also entitled to the full minimum wage of $8.00 per hour. (In Tennessee, tipped employees get $2.13 an hour, for instance).

As of January 1st, 2012, the San Francisco minimum wage was raised to $10.24 per hour - the first city in the United States to have a minimum wage over $10.00 per hour.

I promise I will post another word, once I get off the tax bent I started...
 
This makes me think that the EU VAT would be a godsend to all, accountants included, in California. Incidentally, the 'nipping over the Border' tax avoidance scheme is, or maybe was, used in Ireland.

The Irish pig scam was a real money maker for farmers in the Ireland and Ulster a few years ago.

By transporting pigs across the border from Ireland into Ulster (or the other way around), EU subsidies could be claimed. They could then return via a different crossing point. Thousands of pigs were commuting until someone realised that you could do it with 'virtual' pigs, just sending the paperwork across the border and back again.

There is a small village in Belgium, Adinkirke,Link that is the first settlement across the border from France. Once the duty-free concession for channel crossings was abolished, the ships sold cigarettes and tobacco at France's state-regulated prices - slightly cheaper than in the UK.

But Belgium's taxes on cigarettes and tobacco are much lower than in France, and significantly lower than in the UK. When the French government increased the taxes on cigarettes and tobacco, Belgium became very cheap.

Adinkirke sells nothing but cigarettes and tobacco, mainly to the English. It is about ten minutes drive from Dunkerque, and half an hour from Calais.

A cheaper place in Europe is Andorra. Cigarettes and tobacco trundle into Andorra in large trucks and trundle out again in small vans and cars.
 
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Back to seldom used words before this devolves into a GB thread....

Trencher: An edible plate or bowl made of bread.
 
Thanks, Og, for adding to my tax evasion side-thread. I am always eager to learn how other countries handle these things.

Now, back to the thread;

nugatory - adj 1. INCONSEQUENTIAL, WORTHLESS 2. having no force: INOPERATIVE syn VAIN
 
From Dictionary of Historical Slang:

Christmas Verb - 1. to provide with Christmas cheer - C16th-17th; Adorn with decorations for Christmas - from circa 1825; Celebrate Christmas - from circa 1825.

Christmas! - A mild euphemistic expletive. Late C19th - early C20th.

Beef, be dressed like Christmas beef - Dressed in one's best: from circa 1861, obsolete, from a Butcher's shop on Christmas Eve. Compare with 'Mutton dressed as Lamb'.
 
We in the UK eat Turkey on Christmas Day and leftovers all the following week...

More, same source, about Turkeys:

Turkey - A Royal Marine Light Infantryman, from their scarlet tunics from circa 1870

Turkey-Buyer - A Toff, a Banker, an important person 'because it costs more than twopence to buy gobblers' late C19th - early C20th

turkey-cock, turn as red as a - To blush violently - mostly provincial and colonial - from circa 1860 [Og's note. Later use is the flush indicative of high blood pressure.]

turkey-merchant - 1. a driver of turkeys. late C17th - early C18th A pun on Turkey Merchant, one trading with Turkey and the Levant; 2. a poulterer mid C18th - mid C19th surviving in use until about 1880; 3. A chicken thief; 4. A dealer in contraband (smuggled) silk - up to 1839; 5. An extensive dealer in scrip i.e. a stockbroker usually a dubious one from circa 1875
 
naffin - One who is almost an idiot.

Damning with faint praise?

It's nice to see you back, Allard, in any language. Happy holidays to one and all.
 
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Thanks for the welcome back, ControllingKink.

Turkey on Christmas in the UK sounds lovely, Og. We had a rib roast, which was delicious and was followed by French Dip Sandwiches as leftovers. Thank you, as always, for posting those interesting words.

nuchal - adj of, relating to, or lying in the region of the nape
 
Porcine: adj
1. of or pertaining to swine.
2. resembling swine; hoggish; piggish.

From the Latin porcinus
 
So, 1sickbastard, would a porcine appetite at an afternoon nummet be a no-no?

Nox - noun the Roman goddess of night

Is this where the nox in equi-nox comes from, I wonder?
 
So, 1sickbastard, would a porcine appetite at an afternoon nummet be a no-no?

Nox - noun the Roman goddess of night

Is this where the nox in equi-nox comes from, I wonder?

Of course - equal night.

N abbreviations from Dictionary of Historical Slang:

n.a.d. - military hospital C19th 'no appreciable disease' i.e. malingering (also used n.y.d. 'not yet diagnosed' = drunk) but n.y.d. can also mean 'not yet dead' = either malingering or drunk or both.

n.c. 'Nuff Ced' circa 1870 = enough said.

n.d. (of a woman) trying to look young late C19th to early C20th - from librarians' 'No Date'.

n.f. A smart or cunning tradesman circa 1865 obsolete from printers' slang 'No Flies(on him)' OR among artisans 'No Fool' i.e. skilled at his trade.

n.g. US usage 1840; UK usage 1890 No go; i.e. a failure OR No Good. More modern version n.b.g. 'No Bloody Good' i.e. useless of a person or object. Even more modern (late C20th n.b.f.g. 'No Bloody Fucking Good'.)

n.n. up to about 1909 'necessary nuisance' i.e. a husband.
 
So, 1sickbastard, would a porcine appetite at an afternoon nummet be a no-no?

Nox - noun the Roman goddess of night

Is this where the nox in equi-nox comes from, I wonder?

Nox is also the nominative singular of the (third declension, feminine) Latin noun meaning night. (The scholars among us will know that the genitive singular is noctis—which we see in English words like nocturnal, nocturne,, and, yes, equinoctial, the adjectival form of equinox).

Nowl - the head of an animal, as distinguished from that of a man.

An ass's nowl I fixed upon his head. (Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream)
 
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So, 1sickbastard, would a porcine appetite at an afternoon nummet be a no-no?

Nox - noun the Roman goddess of night

Is this where the nox in equi-nox comes from, I wonder?

How should I know about appropriate appetites at meals? Ms. Manners I'm not.

Yes, Nox (Greek Goddess Nyx) is the root of the word equinox, which means, literally, equal night (from the Latin aequi, meaning equal and the Roman goddess of the night, Nox)
 
Thank you, gentlemen, for your timely replies to my question of Nox.

Og, I especially liked "n.n.". I am sure I will find a way to slide that into a conversation with my lady friends and get a good laugh out of them.

novation - noun the substitution of a new legal obligation for an old one
 
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