In a recent Imgur post about language barriers, users began posting their most comical experiences with the English language.
If you forget a word, there’s always a way to talk around it. At the risk of sounding like Tom Haverford from Parks & Rec, almost anything can be described in a roundabout way.
Scroll down to see hilarious phrases—from “baby lettuce balls” to “bread mushrooms”—that foreigners have come up with when they didn’t know the correct word in English.
Ice = “Cold Water with Corners”
Submitted by: Slimydog
“I did not know the words for ‘ice cubes’ in German so [I] asked for ‘very cold water with corners.'”
Photo: Doc’s Bunkhouse
Napkin = “Face Paper”
Submitted by: rncdancer
“When I was living in Guatemala, I didn’t know how to say ‘napkin’ so I called it face paper.”
Photo: Cheryl Lynch Quilts
Stinging Nettles = “Biting Vegetables”
Submitted by: thesneakiestweasel
“Trying to explain to a concerned German couple why I was crying: ‘A vegetable has bitten me’ (stinging nettles).”
Photo: Wikimedia
Muffins = “Bread Mushrooms”
Submitted by: zinvader
“I have referred to Muffins as bread mushrooms. Honestly though it’s still a good description.”
Photo: Serious Eats
Pot = “Stove Bowl”
Submitted by: willfullyspooning
“I once referred to a pot as a ‘stove bowl.'”
Photo: Wikimedia
Flour = “White Powder”
Submitted by: peskyroto
“My German Boyfriend forgot the word for flour and asked a shopkeeper where he could find some ‘white powder.'”
Photo: American Preppers Network
Mushrooms = “The Fungus”
Submitted by: Merrylegs
“Met a woman in the grocery looking for ‘the fungus.’ Mushrooms. She was looking for mushrooms. Worried me for a second.”
Photo: Fine Living by Arch
Banana Peel = “Banana Shell”
Submitted by: SpruceyB
“Once worked with a Polish girl who called a Banana Peel, Banana Shell.”
Eagle = “Turkey”
Submitted by: Erotes
“One of our first thanksgivings in the states from Chile, my Mom called the turkey ‘eagle’ and 24 years later we still tease her about it.”
Photo: Piss Me Off
Brussels Sprouts = “Baby Lettuce Balls”
Submitted by: MariKaitlin
“Boyfriend is Albanian/American and sometimes English words slip his mind. The other day he called [brussels] sprouts ‘baby lettuce balls.'”
Photos:
[via Imgur]