A Green Bay, Wisconsin, caller is curious about her mother’s playful interjections. If someone said, “Well,” her mother would add, “Well, well. Three holes in the ground.” If someone started a sentence with...
step-thru n.— «The company plans to produce 1.2 lakh vehicles comprising only “step-thrus” (a cross between mopeds and motorcycles) or “bebeks” as they are called in the Indonesian market and capture a 5% share by...
aaargh plop n.— «Scientists may just be learning what is already common knowledge among Indonesian villagers. Peter Roeder, a consultant for the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, says locals have an onomatopoeic name for bird flu...
little red dot n. the country of Singapore. Editorial Note: This term is now proudly taken by Singaporeans as evidence that Singapore’s importance is far greater than warranted by its size. Etymological Note: From comments made by former Indonesian...
Indon n.— «“Often, they (Malaysian society) refer to Indonesia’s labour force as “Indon’ (a truncated version of Indonesian).” The writer said that “Indon” was a derogatory term to describe people who are less than...
KKN n.— «He will have to deal with KKN (the Indonesian acronym for corruption, collusion and nepotism).» —“People have their say on Susilo” Jakarta Post (Indonesia) Oct. 20, 2004. (source: Double-Tongued...