How to Swear Around the World

Product Information

Strong language often involves naming things you desire but aren’t supposed to desire; at the very least, it aims to upset power structures that may seem a bit too arbitrary.

This essential phrasebook collects the most colourful, explicit and outrageous ways to tell people off in different languages from all around the world. Well you don’t want to be that person who always goes abroad and can’t communicate with the locals, do you?I bought this as a gift for my son who loves travelling and likes to try and pickup some of the language in the country his visiting. It's kinda fun, if simple and rather single-minded, but hey, I haven't learnt such fun swearing since I watched Firefly with the Pinyinary open. First Name * Please enter a First Name Please enter a valid First Name, the maximum length is 50 characters. Entertaining, informative (did you know you could nibble or sniff peppercorns to reduce the paranoia? i have realized you have to be at a certain angsty mood to be able to read this and actually learn something from it.

It’s not enough to feel strongly about something; it has to have a dominating societal power and control structure attached to it. Mention a man’s mother in Finland, for instance, and he’ll more likely assume that you have a personal quarrel with her than that you’re trying to offend him. But in Sweden, while you might say skit when you’re annoyed, you can even say it in front of your grandmother.Each rude entry contains a rating indicating the degree of offensiveness of the word, along with its country of origin, translation, and language information. Bought this as a present for a glob-trotting relative who is always on tour as lighting director with his rock band.

If you would like to comment on this story or anything else you have seen on BBC Culture, head over to our Facebook page or message us on Twitter . As useful as it is hilarious, Sacher's How to Swear Around the World teaches readers all kinds of vulgar phrases in dozens of different languages. The set includes 100 of the best, weirdest, and most wonderfully rude words curated from around the world. I understand you will use my personal data to improve services and send me marketing communications You must consent to the storage and use of your personal data as laid out in our privacy notice.This collection of funny visual puzzles has your keys hidden in a range of everyday and not-so-everyday environments. How some people in some countries insult each other is eye opening, and to be just gives hints of how they came up as a country. No missing or damaged pages, no creases or tears, no underlining or highlighting of text, and no writing in the margins. Perfect for the international traveler who may need to wish an enemy a painful death, insult a person's grandmother, or accuse someone's mother of having intimate relations with bears in the forest. I was hoping for more creative phrases, and there are a few corkers in there, but it could have gone further.