Did you ever get told as a youngster that Eskimos have 200 words for snow? We certainly did. We also remember being told that it was an old wives' tale, but the latest studies suggest that far from being an exaggeration, it's actually a conservative estimate: there are actually 53 words for snow or ice in Inuit, while the Sami (in northern Europe and Siberia) have a further 180. (Our favourite of which is 'pukak' – which sounds like the end result of a teenager's night out, but actually refers to powdery snow that has frozen into crystals that look like salt.) Language really is that rich and beautiful.
Food is just as rich a source of colourful vocabulary as weather – a fact that is beautfilly demonstrated by this lovely collection of linguistic nuggets (put together by travel website Expedia) collecting some terrific examples from around the world.
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‘Everyone had dodgy magazines hidden under their beds and I had interior design magazines’: James Thurstan Waterworth's consuming passionsInterior designer James Thurstan Waterworth was the European design director at Soho House before he went on to open his own studio, Thurstan. He discusses his love of Tudor history, Andrew Scott and how a portrait of a chicken changed his life.
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Eat our local cheeses or lose our local cheeses, warns Neal's Yard DairyEngland has a rich tradition of fine local cheeses. Put down the cheddar, and protect some of our heritage dairy.
