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Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2007 June 11

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June 11

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Euphemisms for "diarrhea sickness"

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Neither the Diarrhea page nor its Talk page give a list of English-language euphemisms for the condition. Would that be appropriate content for either page (and if so, which?)—and how might I go about a Web search for such terms? -- Thanks, Deborahjay 11:50, 11 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

wiktionary has
83.78.163.162 13:22, 11 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Great, thanks! I've never used Wiktionary before; it's about time...! -- Deborahjay 04:12, 12 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]
My (Irish) grandfather often used to call it 'the scour,' but it seemed more of a dysphemism than anything else. Interestingly, this term came from the word once used exclusively for the condition when livestock suffer from it1. --It's-is-not-a-genitive 14:18, 11 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Best sounding of the all though is Montezuma's Revenge - X201 14:23, 11 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I've heard it called 'the squits', 'the liquishits' and 'code brown emergency' before. --Kurt Shaped Box 14:37, 11 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I found the following list by searching "+Diarrhea +travel +Euphemism" on Google. --JAXHERE | Talk 16:31, 11 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I neglected to indicate in my original posting of the query, that "travel" isn't an element here and in fact would be misleading; the text comes from a detention camp in WWII-era Occupied France, and the "sickness" aspect was a result of the internees' meager diet and overall poor health. -- Deborahjay 04:12, 12 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]
What's Google? ;) - X201 18:46, 11 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]
If the wink was directed at the OP (= yrs. truly): I wouldn't search Google when seeking a linguistic term. Dictionaries, yes. But my query was especially directed at the WP community. -- Deborahjay 04:12, 12 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Not sure if it counts, but the literal translation from german is through-fall.
Actually, that's an interesting direction; the [inaccessible] original was in German or French. -- Deborahjay 04:12, 12 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Urban Dictionary to the rescue - http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=diarrhea has every term one could think of. Neil ╦ 19:43, 11 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]
It hasn't got 'squits' or 'running dumps'.  slυмgυм [ ←→ ] 19:48, 11 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]
In all, Urban Dictionary impresses me as worth a look but with a jaundiced eye when seeking mainstream euphemisms(as I am). The majority of the entries strike me as slang, possibly limited to certain (primarily youth?) subcultures, and I can't help but wonder whether many are fanciful coinages of their (attention-seeking?) contributors...? -- Deborahjay 04:12, 12 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I don't think I've ever heard a "mainstream" (non-slang) euphemism for diarrhea. You just call it "diarrhea" in polite company; you could almost say that "diarrhea" itself is the euphemism. If for whatever reason you wanted to avoid saying "diarrhea" in polite company, you'd just say "I've been having stomach trouble" or something vague like that. —Angr 04:21, 12 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I've heard it be referred to in polite conversation as gastroenteritis, even if it isn't always strictly that, because it has the same result. Neil ╦ 13:08, 12 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Or "Delhi belly". Neil ╦ 13:09, 12 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]
"Loose movements" (as American English puts it) is one I've heard over the years. This is along the lines I'm working, though this particular term doesn't fit the context (the title of an artwork depicting a French detention camp in the early 1940s). -- Deborahjay 23:29, 12 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]
'Loose tummy' is one I used to hear quite a lot. I don't think that 'bad guts' has been mentioned yet either. --Kurt Shaped Box 23:31, 12 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Upon reviewing the range of responses, it seems what I need is not necessarily a euphemism—as the artist in question (Karl Schwesig) was known to employ irony and sarcasm in titling and captioning his depictions of the French detention camps—but WWII-era, i.e. early 1940s period slang, rather than the fanciful contemporary sort found aplenty in the Urban Dictionary. Perhaps I ought to ask my dad, a WWII vet...?-- Deborahjay 23:41, 12 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

"The trots" is old enough; the OED cites it as early as 1904, and again in 1936. It also says it's used in The Thorn Birds, which takes place between 1915 and 1969. "The runs" seems to be later; it's first attested in 1962. —Angr 17:40, 13 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Excellent! I'll use "the trots" enclosed in double quotes, and perhaps someday I'll have access to the original and tone up the English if necessary. Thanks, Angr , for going the distance on this one! -- Deborahjay 21:10, 13 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]
In the Southern USA, for some reason, most of the time we call it Montezuma's Revenge, though I don't know why. I don't know who Montezuma is, or even if (s)he exists. We also like to call it "Louisiana" (again, I don't know why) or "Shredded Shittake."
I've even heard "Indian/Mexican Firebombs," "[I've got a] Shit Geyser," "Colon Cleaner," or my personal favorite, "Someone Sunk My Battleshits!" You can always depend on the backwards boonies to come up with something silly... --67.177.170.96 07:24, 14 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Dude. We have an article called Montezuma's Revenge (and also Montezuma's Revenge (illness), which should probably be merged). Montezuma is a variant of the name of Moctezuma; two Aztec emperors bore this name. Marnanel 02:38, 16 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The canadian redneck term seems to be "the ring of fire", especially after a night of suicide chicken wings and draft beer. Cheers. 24.226.90.6 00:51, 15 June 2007 (UTC) Rana sylvatica[reply]

hello (foreign)

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I am looking for a word that I sort of remember. It means hello in some language, I don't know what. I am sure I will recognise it when I see it. So I need a list of ways of saying hello in different languages. Is there anywhere anyone here knows of where I can find this?

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Hello should have it. Neil ╦ 19:42, 11 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Learning a foreign language.

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I would like to learn welsh, just for the sake of it, not to get any qualifications. And I am busy, so I would like a relatively simple way of learning ion my spare time, not at a school. Ideally I would like to find somewhere on the internet that can tell me the basics of grammer or maybe a book I can easily find. Anyone here have any advice? Also I should say I don't expect to be able to spend a lot on this. So...

Take a loot at b:Welsh and the links from there. —Angr 20:21, 11 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Personally, I've always liked http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/catchphrase/ . Marnanel 02:35, 16 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]
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