# Terms in one language that reference another nationality? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 20, 2010, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terms-in-one-language-that-reference-another-nationality/547392 "2010-07-20T21:11:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terms-in-one-language-that-reference-another-nationality/547392/61 "2010-07-21T19:05:55Z")
Norwegian Spanskrør - lit. spanish tube - rattan cane (dying out as corporal punishment becomes a forgotten phenomenon) Svenskeknappen - lit. the Swede/Swedish button - the on/off-switch on a piece of computer equipment, also the ctrl-alt-del combination, but especially a switch that physically cuts power. _The computer froze up, so I had to use the Swedish button._ Franske mansjetter - French cuffs - indian burns ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terms-in-one-language-that-reference-another-nationality/547392/62 "2010-07-21T19:09:03Z")
> [@mascaroni](#): > > ‘Cor Anglais’, something fairly close to what we would call the French Horn. Cor anglais is an English horn, and it is much more like an oboe than it is like a French horn. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terms-in-one-language-that-reference-another-nationality/547392/63 "2010-07-21T19:15:23Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > Oh, by the way – in Quebec, a hot dog with meat sauce is _un michigan_. Not sure why. Maybe in Montreal, because I’ve never heard it. Or do you mean Quebec in the sense of Quebec City? ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terms-in-one-language-that-reference-another-nationality/547392/64 "2010-07-21T19:17:24Z")
> [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](#): > > Maybe in Montreal, because I’ve never heard it. Or do you mean Quebec in the sense of Quebec City? Perhaps it is only in Montreal; I’m not sure. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terms-in-one-language-that-reference-another-nationality/547392/65 "2010-07-21T19:18:48Z")
In Bengali, peanuts are called “Chinese nuts.” ---
**Author:** ![Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4bbf92/32.png) [@Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heart_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terms-in-one-language-that-reference-another-nationality/547392/66 "2010-07-21T19:38:42Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > There’s a snack food in Israel called “American peanuts” that I really, really, really liked. Sadly, I cannot get them here in America. > [@Keeve](#): > > I love them! For those who are unfamiliar with them: When I was in Israel in the late 70s and early 80s, they were peanuts covered with some sort of hard thin candy shell. Are these anything like [Boston baked beans](http://www.oldtimecandy.com/boston-baked-beans.htm), or maybe [French burnt peanuts](http://www.oldtimecandy.com/burnt-peanuts.htm)? Both of which I now have to have? ---
**Author:** ![In\_Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a8b319/32.png) [@In\_Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terms-in-one-language-that-reference-another-nationality/547392/67 "2010-07-21T19:57:08Z")
We call those Candy-coated Peanuts or Candy Peanuts. I’m sure it’s the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terms-in-one-language-that-reference-another-nationality/547392/68 "2010-07-21T20:37:21Z")
> [@Heart\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Are these anything like [Boston baked beans](http://www.oldtimecandy.com/boston-baked-beans.htm), or maybe [French burnt peanuts](http://www.oldtimecandy.com/burnt-peanuts.htm)? Both of which I now have to have? mmmm…sort of. The coloring is wrong. The coating for American peanuts is actually sort of peanut butter flavored, and isn’t very sweet. I wouldn’t consider them to be candies at all, which is why I referred to them as a “snack food”. They’re more on the savory side. btw, although I can read Hebrew, it’s not as “natural” to me as reading Latin letters, so a lot of the time, I never really made the effort. So I actually didn’t realize they were called American peanuts for a LONG time. I only found out when an Israeli friend asked me if Israeli American peanuts were anything like American peanuts in the US. I had no idea what he was talking about. What the heck is an American peanut? Oh? These things I’ve been eating for months? _facepalm_ ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terms-in-one-language-that-reference-another-nationality/547392/69 "2010-07-21T21:59:34Z")
I’m amazed this thread has got this far without mentioning Mexican standoff. We also shouldn’t forget the Spanish Flu and the Hong Kong flu. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terms-in-one-language-that-reference-another-nationality/547392/70 "2010-07-22T00:15:19Z")
Quoth **septimus** : > [@](#): > > As a Californian I had to ask when once offered a “California burger” in Minnesota. That’s a burger with tomatoes. Really? I would always presume that a burger comes with tomatoes, unless specified otherwise. When I see “California” in a food name, I generally assume avocados. ---
**Author:** ![In\_Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a8b319/32.png) [@In\_Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terms-in-one-language-that-reference-another-nationality/547392/71 "2010-07-22T01:26:53Z")
No, it’s true. In the pre-McDonald’s days, a California burger was one that had lettuce and tomato on it. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terms-in-one-language-that-reference-another-nationality/547392/72 "2010-07-22T01:58:18Z")
Chinese whispers. Chinese chequers. French skipping. Russian roulette. Spanish omelette. French bread. Scotch pancakes. French fries. Jap’s Eye (NSFW and offensive). Siamese twins. Dutch Uncle. Greek salad (though this is, tbf, quite Greek so maybe counts more as a description rather than a phrase). ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terms-in-one-language-that-reference-another-nationality/547392/73 "2010-07-22T06:01:04Z")
Oh, and in Spanish un francés is not the same as a French kiss in English. This has led to very strange dialogue in movies where for example two young teenagers were discovered kissing “with tongue” but, due to a too-literal translation, the girl’s father later raised Hell about blowjobs ---
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terms-in-one-language-that-reference-another-nationality/547392/74 "2010-07-22T11:17:17Z")
I’ve always been amused by that old Yiddish phrase “goyische kop,” or “gentile head,” which means being a dumbass. Pretty damn offensive, you ask me. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terms-in-one-language-that-reference-another-nationality/547392/75 "2010-07-22T11:46:17Z")
> [@lemac](#): > > inhaling heroine Which is what happens when your Nancy Drew addiction gets way out of control. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terms-in-one-language-that-reference-another-nationality/547392/76 "2010-07-22T16:10:51Z")
> [@Rain\_Soaked](#): > > I seem to remember that the word for an orange in Dutch is a “Chinese Apple”. As in German and Scandinavian. > [@mascaroni](#): > > ‘Cor Anglais’, something fairly close to what we would call the French Horn. > [@fachverwirrt](#): > > “Cor Anglais” is an English horn, not a French horn. And the name has nothing to do with England at all. It means “angled” or “bent” horn. > [@Anaglyph](#): > > Danish (sweet pastry) are called “Wienerbrod” (Viennese bread) in Danmark and “Danske Wienerbrod” in Norway And wienerbröd in Swedish. Someone once said to me that the name comes from a Danish baker called Wiener, but I don’t buy that. The most plausible explanation I’ve read is that it has something to do with Vienna. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terms-in-one-language-that-reference-another-nationality/547392/77 "2010-07-22T16:24:30Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > And the name has nothing to do with England at all. It means “angled” or “bent” horn. According to [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_horn#History_and_etymology), that’s a false etymology. It is from “angelic horn” in German – engellisches horn. Apparently at the time, _engellisches_ meant both “angelic” and “English,” so it became “English” even before the term was adopted into French and English. ---
**Author:** ![auRa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@auRa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auRa)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terms-in-one-language-that-reference-another-nationality/547392/78 "2010-07-23T11:07:11Z")
In Finnish, “it’s all Greek to me” is “täyttä hepreaa”, complete Hebrew. Due to our historically fairly strained relations with the guys next door, we also have a verb “ryssiä”, to screw up some task, literally “to Russian”. To vomit is “puhua norjaa”, to “speak Norwegian”. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terms-in-one-language-that-reference-another-nationality/547392/79 "2010-07-24T15:45:44Z")
In Thailand, “Dutch treat” is called “American share.” ---
**Author:** ![gitfiddle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/898d66/32.png) [@gitfiddle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gitfiddle)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terms-in-one-language-that-reference-another-nationality/547392/80 "2010-08-13T16:57:24Z")
I just remembered that in Mandarin (at least in Taiwan) they say 我沒有那個美國時間 (I don’t have any of that American time, or better translated: I don’t have the benefit of being on American time), meaning that if I were twelve to fifteen hours behind, I would have that much more time to work on this project, but now I’ve got to bust my butt because I don’t have the benefit of that time difference. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terms-in-one-language-that-reference-another-nationality/547392.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terms-in-one-language-that-reference-another-nationality/547392.md?page=5)