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Paris syndrome

Paris syndrome
 n.— «A Japanese woman in her 20s stopped a well-dressed Frenchman in the Opera metro station yesterday afternoon and asked him in broken English for help with a public telephone. He replied with a finger in the air and walked on, leaving another potential candidate for “Paris Syndrome.” The term has been coined by Dr Hiroaki Ota, a Paris-based psychiatrist who specialises in a state of depression which hits Japanese who come to live in the City of Light. The condition mainly afflicts young Japanese women and is brought on by the collision between the Japanese dream of France and the rough reality of Paris life.» —“‘Paris Syndrome’ Hits Japanese Dreamers” in Paris, France The Statesman (Kolkata, India) Dec. 15, 2004. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)

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Further reading

Until a Week of Thursdays

In English, to wait until the cows come home, means you’ll wait a long time. In French, it’s attendre la semaine des quatre jeudis, literally, to “wait for a week of Thursdays.” This is part of a complete episode.

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