# Titles, names, words, etc. that are funny in other countries **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 7, 2021, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-names-words-etc-that-are-funny-in-other-countries/950256 "2021-09-07T18:57:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2021, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-names-words-etc-that-are-funny-in-other-countries/950256/1 "2021-09-07T18:57:24Z")
[_Goolie Get-together_, as performed by The Toadies](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cChhm346X7M) is playing in the iPod. It’s the theme song of the 1970-1971 cartoon [_Groovie Goolies_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groovie_Goolies). ‘Goolies’, in England and I suppose other countries, means ‘testicles’. If they’ve heard of the cartoon, they probably think the title is funny. Similarly, ‘fanny’ has a different meaning over there. You can imagine the image they may get when I think of Fanny Flagg. We had an Italian foreign exchange student in my high school German class. He used to crack up at the German name Knut (pronounced ‘k-noot’). He was too embarrassed to tell us why it was so funny, other than it was ‘dirty’. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2021, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-names-words-etc-that-are-funny-in-other-countries/950256/2 "2021-09-07T19:19:22Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Similarly, ‘fanny’ has a different meaning over there. You can imagine the image they may get when I think of Fanny Flagg. A British quiz show host had a lot of fun with the name of the German skier Fanny Chmelar: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/jl1Zfz-Widc/hqdefault.jpg "The Chase - Fanny Chmelar") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jl1Zfz-Widc) And then there was the Rolls Royce model that was supposed to be named “Silver Mist”, until somebody pointed out that “Mist” in German means “manure” and is used in colloquial speech as a bit less strong variant of crap or shit. > **[Test your knowledge: What forced Rolls-Royce into a rethink over the name...](https://www.driving.co.uk/news/test-your-knowledge-what-forced-rolls-royce-into-a-rethink-over-the-name-silver-mist/)** > > Rolls Royce decided not to call its 1965 luxury car the Silver Mist, instead changing it to Silver Shadow. Why? ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2021, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-names-words-etc-that-are-funny-in-other-countries/950256/3 "2021-09-07T21:28:12Z")
This one is so old: “Coca-cola” in Japanese means “Bite the wax tadpole.” ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2021, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-names-words-etc-that-are-funny-in-other-countries/950256/4 "2021-09-07T21:34:57Z")
I once saw a bus in Germany with “Fücker” painted on the side of it. With the umlaut I assume it’s pronounced more like “fooker”, but it is still funny to this English speaker. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2021, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-names-words-etc-that-are-funny-in-other-countries/950256/5 "2021-09-07T21:47:34Z")
Sorry, it’s Chinese, not Japanese. ---
**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:** [September 7, 2021, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-names-words-etc-that-are-funny-in-other-countries/950256/6 "2021-09-07T21:48:13Z")
The old spelling in Norwegian for cargo handling makes this sign at the Hell train station hilarious to the English speaking world. [https://wikitravel.org/upload/shared//7/73/Hell.jpg](https://wikitravel.org/upload/shared//7/73/Hell.jpg) ---
**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:** [September 7, 2021, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-names-words-etc-that-are-funny-in-other-countries/950256/7 "2021-09-07T21:53:18Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Sorry, it’s Chinese, not Japanese. It’s also borderline. Chinese shopkeepers created their own “translations” into Chinese symbols before Coca-Cola created an official one. “Bite the wax tadpole” was one of several such. So although you can choose Chinese words such that the syllables Coca-cola mean “Bite the wax tadpole”, it is not unambigously the one thing Coca-cola means, and it was never the official “translation”. > **[Bite the Wax Tadpole](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/bite-the-wax-tadpole/)** > > Did Coca-Cola translate its name into a Chinese phrase meaning 'bite the wax tadpole'? ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2021, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-names-words-etc-that-are-funny-in-other-countries/950256/8 "2021-09-07T22:09:00Z")
Oh, and we can’t forget the famous town of Fucking, Austria, which recently changed it’s name to [Fugging](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugging,_Upper_Austria) because they got tired of English speakers making jokes about them. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2021, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-names-words-etc-that-are-funny-in-other-countries/950256/9 "2021-09-07T22:12:45Z")
In Australia, when you connect your computer system to the outside world via a router, it is always pronounced with an “ow” sound to rhyme with “doubter”. British people, on the other hand, generally pronounce it the same as “root”. Even my dad now does this, after about a quarter century over the other side of the pond. It will reliably crack any Australian up to hear people talking about “rooting”, “rooters” and “roots”, since here “root” is extremely vulgar slang for sex. Likewise for hearing Americans talking about supporting their football team (over here, we “barrack”) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2021, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-names-words-etc-that-are-funny-in-other-countries/950256/10 "2021-09-07T22:15:40Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > Oh, and we can’t forget the famous town of Fucking, Austria I think I saw an Abfahrt for there. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2021, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-names-words-etc-that-are-funny-in-other-countries/950256/11 "2021-09-07T22:24:16Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > I once saw a bus in Germany with “Fücker” painted on the side of it. With the umlaut I assume it’s pronounced more like “fooker”, but it is still funny to this English speaker. [Fokker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fokker). Also made recently famous by the _Meet the Parents_/sequels films. I like how they got everyone saying the word. Also, [Cooking with Poo](https://www.cookingwithpoo.com/), if you are into Thai cooking. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2021, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-names-words-etc-that-are-funny-in-other-countries/950256/12 "2021-09-07T22:24:52Z")
In 2000 and 2005 There were tropical cyclones in the western Pacific, named after the Dragon King of Chinese mythology. However, to an English-speaker, [Longwang](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon_Longwang_(disambiguation)) does not inspire reverence. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2021, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-names-words-etc-that-are-funny-in-other-countries/950256/13 "2021-09-07T22:48:57Z")
This made me chuckle recently. A jobbie is a poo in Scotland… > **[Peanut butter firm leaves Scots in stitches: 'Want some Jobbie on yer toast...](https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/16186003.jobbie-nut-butter-scots-stitches/)** > > A MALAYSIAN peanut butter named Jobbie has left Scots in stitches on social media. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2021, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-names-words-etc-that-are-funny-in-other-countries/950256/14 "2021-09-07T22:50:42Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > [Fokker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fokker). Also made recently famous by the _Meet the Parents_ /sequels films. I like how they got everyone saying the word. Then there is the (I’m sure apocryphal) Douglas Bader anecdote: > ---
**Author:** ![TheGunIsMightierThanThePen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thegunismightierthanthepen/32/2981_2.png) [@TheGunIsMightierThanThePen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheGunIsMightierThanThePen)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2021, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-names-words-etc-that-are-funny-in-other-countries/950256/15 "2021-09-08T01:26:43Z")
A former French prime minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, caused some snickering in the Arab world because the proper French pronunciation of his last name resembles a Lebanese slang term for the penis. > **[New French PM's name causes Arab giggles | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2012/05/17/world/meast/france-pm-name-embarrassment/index.html)** > > The name of France's new prime minister is creating problems in the Arab world, where it sounds like a widely understood rude word. ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2021, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-names-words-etc-that-are-funny-in-other-countries/950256/16 "2021-09-08T12:12:59Z")
This thread reminds me of [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puxwF779v9o) song from way back (one of Dr. Demento’s favorites). ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2021, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-names-words-etc-that-are-funny-in-other-countries/950256/17 "2021-09-08T12:59:15Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Similarly, ‘fanny’ has a different meaning over there. You can imagine the image they may get when I think of Fanny Flagg. Is “Fanny” any worse of a name than “Dick”? ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2021, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-names-words-etc-that-are-funny-in-other-countries/950256/18 "2021-09-08T13:30:15Z")
Driving on back roads in German speaking lands you will occasionally see a sign “Achtung Ausfahrt” warning of a hidden driveway. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2021, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-names-words-etc-that-are-funny-in-other-countries/950256/19 "2021-09-08T15:51:44Z")
I had a Canadian relative called Randall visit here in England. He was a good-looking, polite chap in his twenties (and used a nickname. 😉) Now on this side of the pond ‘Randy’ means ‘ready for sex’. So some of my elderly aunts would blush and giggle when this attractive bloke would introduce himself by saying “Hi, I’m Randy!” 😍 ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2021, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-names-words-etc-that-are-funny-in-other-countries/950256/20 "2021-09-08T16:00:11Z")
And in the UK, to “knock up” someone simply means to wake them up. In the US, “knock up” means to impregnate someone. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titles-names-words-etc-that-are-funny-in-other-countries/950256.md?page=2)