Idioms & Phrases

“Bara brêstar ani tera sunkrar” literally means “twelve Thursdays and thirteen Fridays” and offers no clue to its intended significance. It is true that the number thirteen has been generally considered as unlucky, so much so that sometimes even builders and owners of apartment buildings give in to the superstition and take you from the 12th … Continue reading »

Meaning: An empty threat (literally: a palm-leaf snake) When I was a kid, we didn’t have TOYS Я US where we could hope to get our birthday presents from. And in Goa, where I grew up, there used to be no such thing as a birthday celebration in the first place, though I must admit … Continue reading »

In the days of old, there used to be two common forms of greeting. One was the usual “How are you?” or preferably “Are you well?” To a male person: “Tum boro ahai mum?” To a lady: “Tum bori ahai mum?” To a younger girl: “Tum borem ahai mum?” To two or more males: “Tumi … Continue reading »