Around Livorno in Tuscany you can say that someone doesn't know how to make an O with their asshole ('un sa fa' un o cor culo)

Looks to me like there's probably room on the Lincoln Memorial statue for him to perch another armchair on Abe's lap

I can't imagine how bad it would be if I were translating into Mandarin or Japanese or even French. Maybe quick first drafts would simply not be a thing. Or maybe my brain would be forced to rewire

Whew, not the only one with little translation elves whispering in my head

Ha. But seriously, do you? Because I've asked dozens of translators over the years and no one's ever said oh yeah, me too. I thought it had to be a widespread thing but apparently not

There seems to be a more direct channel to the page. Whereas with translation, it’s as if comprehension/production/transcription are split up, the Oral Language Dept. is doing step two, and the Written Language Dept. misidentifies what’s on the conveyor belt. I find it both amusing and disturbing.

I’m obsessed with asking people, since I can’t believe I’m the only one. Do you feel as if inner speech plays a stronger role when you’re translating, as opposed to when your writing brain is dealing with only one language? I don’t think I talk to myself as much when I’m just writing or editing.

I'll be cheering too, but don’t feel too relieved if what we get is a Gavin Newsom or some crap. Just look at the UK and try to tell me it’s all about one guy or one party that's in power, monstrous as he and they may be

A less polite version in Italian is "mind your own panful of dicks"

In Italian I'm a lot more comfortable if any medical figure who has to touch me sticks to the formal you, especially when it's a man! The more undignified I'm feeling the more I want to be treated with respect, but of course languages (and people, and generations) differ in the respect implied

But in Italian (perhaps borrowed from German, but WHY?) it's "il mattino ha l'oro in bocca," which neither makes sense nor rhymes. And which is, as noted above, very unappealing. Doesn't help that they used it in the Italian version of the movie Shining to replace "all work and no play, etc."

Aside from the he/she and who/which thing, I've definitely noticed the rise of singular "they" for animals of unknown or irrelevant sex, even non-pets who would have been "it" to most people fifteen years ago. I think "it" for any live, warm-blooded animal has almost gone the way of "it" for babies

My freaking yoga teacher. She's not a corporation, just one very sweet yoga teacher and I had to say thank you but gaaaaah. I'll need a mausoleum in which to be buried with all my free tote bags

Granted, but it would have been funnier if after another glass or two the hedgehog were sneaking a few bites of frog under the table

Don't know where the hedgehog gets off being preachy, they'll totally eat smaller animals whenever they have the chance