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| Ihre 10 Minuten Englisch pro Woche |
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Dear email,
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The Spotlight office is a place of lively debate, and nothing gets us going quite like British humour. When does a funny and cheeky comment become rude or even insulting? And who decides? If someone called me a “numpty” for a silly, inadvertent error, I would just giggle, after all “numpty” is such a lovely word. If, on the other hand, I called a German colleague a numpty and they looked up the translation – Oxford gives this as Trottel, Dummkopf or even Idiot – they might understandably be hurt. In our “Rude but funny” piece below, we steer you through the challenging terrain of funny British insults.
I like to think of myself as being in control of my feelings and reactions, but when we write about food, especially delicious sounding dishes like the ones Mumbai-based baker Leena Sharma describes below, I come over all Pavlovian and rush out to the nearest supermarket to forage for something good to eat. Perhaps you are the same and, as it’s World Baking Day on 17 May, there will doubtless be plenty of inspiration online in the next few days.
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Inez Sharp
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Editor-in-chief, Spotlight
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get sb. going: jmdn. in Fahrt bringen | cheeky: frech | rude: unhöflich | insulting: beleidigend | inadvertent: versehentlich | giggle: kichern | steer: lenken, steuern | Pavlovian: come over all ∼: vom Pawlowschen Reflex überwältigt werden | forage for sth.: nach etw. stöbern | editor-in-chief: Chefredakteur(in)
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Word of the Week
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eejit
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Did you know...? Irish speakers have their own special word for “idiot”: “eejit”. This headline appeared in the Irish news last year: “‘I was like an eejit, marrying that eejit,’ woman tells Kildare court.”
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© Illustration: Georg Lechner
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© Image: ETS Global
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Language
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Rude, but funny
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“You couldn’t organize a piss-up in a brewery!” What the heck does that mean? That's what our American colleague Mae McCreary has asked herself with regard to several of the British insults we present in the latest issue of Spotlight magazine. Luckily, her colleagues from the British Isles are here to help!
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piss-up (UK, vulg.): Besäufnis | brewery: Brauerei | What the heck...: Was zum Teufel...
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© Image: Getty Images
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Podcast
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“It’s like driving around in somebody’s living room”
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London’s black cabs are iconic, but they may soon be replaced by robotaxis. Inez Sharp reflects on what will be lost when these “mobile living rooms” disappear. In the latest episode of English, please!, the Spotlight team share news stories from across the English-speaking world.
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© Image: rabbit75 via canva.com
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Interview
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“We’ve had to turn people down”
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Katherine Swift founded OMGTea in 2014, before matcha became mainstream. As global demand for the green tea has surged, the industry is struggling to keep up with supply. Business Spotlight spoke to the matcha entrepreneur – who explains that she started the business for a very personal reason.
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surge: stark ansteigen | struggle: kämpfen | supply: hier: Angebot | entrepreneur: Unternehmer(in)
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© Image: Olena Bohovyk / Unsplash.com
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A Day in My Life
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Sweet treats
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“My name is Leena Sharma and I’m a baker and cake decorator based in Mumbai, India, where I run LA bakers. I started baking quite early in life but didn’t take it seriously until I was 25 – and I only decided to turn it into my profession in my 30s.
“I always make sure to keep on top of festive trends, as these are great for business. A favourite is my “mango and rasgulla delight”. This combines layers of mango, cream and rasgullas, which are round, chenna-dough dumplings made with Indian cheese curd and sweetened using syrup. Many customers enjoy this dessert around Raksha Bandhan, a popular and traditional Hindu festival that celebrates the connection between siblings.
“I love the way that food can bring people together to share special moments.”
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rasgulla: kleine, in Sirup gekochte Bällchen aus Frischkäseteig | chenna dough: Frischkäseteig | cheese curd: Käsebruch | siblings: Geschwister
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© Image: private
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Im aktuellen Magazin
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You numpty!
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Creative British insults | Colourful Capetown | Is greed still good in the US? | Wrexham: two Hollywood stars and a Welsh football club
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From the ZEIT SPRACHEN App
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Preheat your oven!
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Did you know that this Sunday is World Baking Day? Celebrate it with a classic treat from London.
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© Image: Jana Trampert
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Quiz
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Capitals
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Can you recognize the capital in the image above? It’s Scotland’s capital! And do you know who founded London? Test you knowledge of capital cities of the English-speaking world.
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© Image: Jim Divine / Unsplash.com
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Mitarbeit: Dennis Draber, Judith Gilbert, Susanne Krause, Mae McCreary, Richard Mote, Rachel Preece, Inez Sharp, Lorraine Turner Akcakaya.
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