The Triple Entendre ... in Japanese

As a fan of general linguistics and conversation, I'm all about the casual use of double entendres. I mean, talk about spicing up a conversation! Even rarer to this I would say would be a triple entendre, though for this rare gem I'm going to say that you have to cross multiple languages and semantics for it to get in play. Obviously, the context and listeners language abilities also comes into play in this case, making it that more of a well-played item when it shows up.

So what the hell am I talking about? I'm talking about something I said the other day that managed to link up a discussion about Honda CRV productions and itchy girl's parts. All by accident!

Down at Brighton Beach last Sunday, and a Cadillac Escalade followed by an Acura RDX turned past us. Reiko made the comment "looks expensive...", and I asked which one. She meant the Cadillac, which I later found out has a starting sticker price of $62K. I though she meant the RDX, which is actually much less at $33K, but started the discussion that the RDX is basically the deluxe version of the CR-V and that my previous company gained a lot of business from the model change project (codenamed the WQ & ZQ) for both vehicles. Essentially, we designed and implemented the manufacturing systems for Honda's partners.

And on and on I go, explaining in a mix of Japanese and English:

We had a partner who purchased equipment from us that had interchangeable tooling so that they could run 10,000 parts for one model and then 10,000 parts for the other model.

And that's where I got busted.
Reiko:

Chotto matte! Ima manko o itta desho!? (Wait a minute... you just said manko, didn't you!?)

The last part I said while counting the car parts, in Japanese, got me in trouble. In Japanese, 10,000 parts would be ICHI MAN KO (一万個), which is like counting 1 x 10,000, then the counter for items, ko (個). Double entendre: manko is slang for a girl's parts, on par with the p-word in English. So ichi manko, then, would be "1 girls' parts" (一つのマンコ?). But then we have the double play on ichi - literally, itchy, which can also be applied as a modifying adjective in context. So the triple entendre was an "itchy girls' parts" (痒いマンコ).

Anyway, we had a good laugh. The more I thought about it, it was an amazing slip, though I don't know if it could be considered Freudian.

Garlic Scapes

More things on my list of new things, smelly, that rock: garlic scapes.

All over our market right now, garlic scapes are the rage. Never seen 'em before, but really, they look fresh from the garden. Kinda like the little feelers on the end of a squid, but green and garlicy. So we started buying them recently, and they're great. Cook like you'd expect and fit into any corner of your meal. Buy 'em today, I say!

One tasty recipe we just had:

Cut the garlic scapes like green beans. Saute in light olive oil, and add whatever. Tonight, we green pepper and double smoked sausage. Served it with corn starch based sticky flavor juice, it was awesome when served over white rice. It's pretty much up to you to give it the flavor, but just think of them as awesome garlic spikes for your dish.

Good Ribes

These days, I'm hooked on ribes. I'm talkin' red currants and gooseberries, man.

Local vendor at the Grand Army Plaza market has been bringing them down from upstate. First time I had ever seen them for sale, too. Those who know me well know that I'm a huge fan of gooseberries, of which we have a bush back at my parents place. We used to have currants to, but the damn DePompei's tree took over that area and killed it off. Though, the motherlode and parents of both said ribe plants are still thriving at Baba's place.

If you ever need a sapling for growing your own gooseberries, my old man could probably hook you up. Talk to Gener!

Anyway, ribes, man. Awesome.

Buying My Own A-Team Van

If I only I had a place to park it.

And what a cop out and weak sauce down my throat for saying it. Because I just found this: A sweet as shit 1979 black van with red stripes... cue the intro fanfare... and A-team van! For less than a thou. Shit.

It's funny too because when we were little, our parents had an '86 Chevy van that was an absolute eye sore until we were old enough to drive. Did not want to be caught seen in there! Yet, once my brother and I realized that the potential that absolute power house had for videos, the course of our lives veered on a new direction: yes, old gnarly vehicles are the shit. Especially because you can drive the hell out of them and they just keep coming back like the T-1000.

Here's the listing (via Craigslist).

Arf Arf the dog

Alright, time for a more j-flavored entry. Let's start it with a joke:

What's the most popular topic of conversation in Japan in the summer?
Answer: "It's hot!" (暑い!)
Seriously, everyone says it. I'm reminded daily by R.

OK, moving on. I've often thought that Japanese onomatopoeia is more often than not a shade closer to the real thing than our equivalents in English. For example, pigs go "buu buu", which is a hell of a lot closer than oink oink. Other words tend to be less as distinct, but when listened to closely, I think the Japanese beat out the English. Perhaps this is due to their manga culture, where the comic books are fill with written out sounds.

One area where the Japanese obviously struggle with is anything that requires a hard r sound, because it just doesn't exist in the language, period.

I heard a yesterday at the park a sound though that couldn't have been more spot on: this little whispy dog got all riled up and was doing a perfect ARF ARF! ARF ARF! He ran around in circles about this girl with a hula hoop. ARF ARF! One of those instances where I failed to have the camera there. Looked kinda like the Chihuahua - Shibainu mix in the pic but was way more wispy.