Thread: What's a cozzie?

If i wore thong undies they would dissapear into my butt crack...l;,

Couscous should not be said in Qatar either. I have a friend in Qatar who turns beet red every time his Moroccan sister in law calls to invite them over for some couscous.
I agree with Mish Mish about "cozzie" or "cossie"...I automatically think of the arabic meaning first, and then I think...ohhh a costume.

Regards
Priscilla

Originally Posted by dujah

Well if it is pronounced the way I am reading it, it could be confused with "kus"...female part down the southern front.....I also had to learn that one of our favorite dishes "couscous" should not be said in Egypt or you will see horrified looks and hear snickers...

When I suffered a fractured toe (from a fellow debke dancer mis-stepping during one of our shows), I was explaining this to my students (who were wondering why my toe was wrapped in bright pink tape) and complained that it meant that I had to wear thongs, which I hated b/c they were so uncomfortable. I meant flip-flops, but as soon as the words left my mouth, we all got an attack of the giggles!

And I found out about the British aversion to the word "fanny" when a Brit friend of mine had to walk away from a department store display of pantyhose... they were labeled "fanny-shapers." Tee hee!

can somebody explain more about the couscous??? what does it mean?

Latifa, I am with you. We always called sandals with the piece between the toes "thongs" unless they were rubber and then they were flip flops. When I was in highschool, back in the 1960s, Capezio made a leather shoe similar to a ballet slipper that was all the rage. It was a flat pump and barely covered the toes, giving a kind of "toe cleavage" look. All the girls wore them at my school, but at the Catholic school my mother taught at they were banned because they showed too much toe cleavage. Guess someone thought it would enflame the boys.

Souzan (showing her age)

lol, only bhuzzers can turn a 1 word answer into a 2 page discussion. Cossie freaked me out at first, but I use it all the time now. Im off to put my cossie in my fanny pack ;)

Originally Posted by sumayasaahir

lol, only bhuzzers can turn a 1 word answer into a 2 page discussion. Cossie freaked me out at first, but I use it all the time now. Im off to put my cossie in my fanny pack ;)

Don't forget to take your gold 'thong' along as well ..l;,

Couldn't resist adding that

I believe that because bhuzzers do turn simple answers into amazing around the world in a couple of days full on conversations is why we spend so much time here ... this place is soooo addictive!..g.:

Couscous is a North African food made of semolina. It reminds me of rice, though the taste is different. It's pronounced koos koos, but to an arab from a different part of the world it might sound like cos cos which would be terribly naughty.

Regards
Priscilla

Originally Posted by nasila

can somebody explain more about the couscous??? what does it mean?

Originally Posted by Bellydancingcaroline

I am sure you are already aware, but thong here means that underwear that has a string at the back. I had many a happy giggle at the thought of this portly man (australian) who used to work in my office, who kept talking about wearing his gold thongs on the beach.

Ohmygosh- I thought they were talking about roos, that they wear roos under their bathing suits- not that they wear shoes with their suits~ what an enlightening thread-thanks to all for their translations! :)

I wear thong undies (proudly!LOL) and thongs on my feet. I've heard thong undies called t-back and I usually know what that means, if I think about it when I hear it. But I'm baffled by the bit about couscous too! Oh, and toe cleavage is hilarious...except that there are men who have that foot fetish thing... ;)

Originally Posted by sagira

I still call them singlets a vest is what goes over your outer top/shirt etc.

My husband is from Malaysia and he use to laugh at the word singlet ( he is use to it now after 23yrs) - he said he always saw in his imagination a Singh ( turban wearing Indian gentleman with a small "singh-let" in tow meaning with a small child) Oh yes another one, Nz'ers wear jandals, Aussies wear thongs ( not sure what anyone else calls them..g.: ( incase there are those out there who don't know what I mean, they are those slip-slops ( Malaysians call them that) originally made of rubber with the piece of rubber that goes between the toes. (OK here is a pic just in case i have left everyone confused..c::)

When I went to Africa with the Peace Corps they kept telling us that we could buy flip flops over there. I had to ask what they were. We always called them thongs as a kids. Now thongs have an entirely different connotation...hee hee...g.:

however whenever I hear New Zealand slang comes it reminds me of British Slang from about 200 years ago. Like the way you call vest tops 'singlets'. Whenever I hear singlet, I always imagine shakesphere in his singlet and hose.

Shakespeare wore a doublet, you loon! YOU'RE the ones speaking 200 year old English, with your freaky pre-Enlightenment lack of 'u' in 'colour'. LOL. A vest to me is the old person/English person word for singlet, or possibly another name for waistcoat. I don't know where "singlet" came from - it might have been a manufacturer's name from long ago, like hoover and lux.

As for "thongs" and "flip-flops", you're all wrong! They're called JANDALS. And the undies are called g-strings. Ouch, the chafing, to both.

Originally Posted by zumarrad

Shakespeare wore a doublet, you loon! YOU'RE the ones speaking 200 year old English, with your freaky pre-Enlightenment lack of 'u' in 'colour'. LOL. A vest to me is the old person/English person word for singlet, or possibly another name for waistcoat. I don't know where "singlet" came from - it might have been a manufacturer's name from long ago, like hoover and lux.

As for "thongs" and "flip-flops", you're all wrong! They're called JANDALS. And the undies are called g-strings. Ouch, the chafing, to both.

Yes, I normally call those up-the-butt panties g-strings, though "thong" is common. (Thong Song, anyone?) I used to use the word "thong" to describe my flip flops, but now I call them sandals...

When I lived in Ghana, a singlet was what they used to refer to the "A shirt". Most Americans call them "wife beaters" because whenever you see a man on TV with one of those on, it's usually some horrible man on Cops who just beat his wife!

Yep, a singlet is a wifebeater.

Originally Posted by ejaghana

Yes, I normally call those up-the-butt panties g-strings, though "thong" is common. (Thong Song, anyone?) I used to use the word "thong" to describe my flip flops, but now I call them sandals...

When I lived in Ghana, a singlet was what they used to refer to the "A shirt". Most Americans call them "wife beaters" because whenever you see a man on TV with one of those on, it's usually some horrible man on Cops who just beat his wife!

A thong is a thong here in the Jolly old British Isles...also known as ....
a cheese cutter.... is the popular defeater of VPL...g.:

Then we have some colonial outcrop wot calls its' trousers..strides!!! and another wot called them pants, would you believe?..l;,

strides are large steps and pants are undergarments,r:;

Originally Posted by dujah

Well if it is pronounced the way I am reading it, it could be confused with "kus"...female part down the southern front.....I also had to learn that one of our favorite dishes "couscous" should not be said in Egypt or you will see horrified looks and hear snickers...

LOL

I had that problem when I first came to Iraq. One of my Iraqi gal pals asked me what I was having for lunch and I said, "cous cous". She turned beat red and shushed me!

(Then again, the Iraqi word for cookie cake type things is kahk, sounds like cock. My friend worked at an international coffee shop and didn't understand at first why non Iraqi males got offended when she asked, ever so innocently, "Do you like to eat kahk?".w.: )

The name of the semolina dish is Berber in origin - k'seksu. The French heard "couscous", transposing the K and the S sounds, and adding a strong vowel sound that doesn't exist in the original.

And given the alternate meaning as pronounced, the Moroccans probably got a kick out of the French running around the country ordering couscous. :)

Originally Posted by jessedan

Couscous is a North African food made of semolina. It reminds me of rice, though the taste is different. It's pronounced koos koos, but to an arab from a different part of the world it might sound like cos cos which would be terribly naughty.

Regards
Priscilla

That may be why the Tunisian owner snickers a little when I ask for couscous at the restuarant I work at. Terrribly naughty...good to know! :)

Originally Posted by lizajuk

A thong is a thong here in the Jolly old British Isles...also known as ....
a cheese cutter.... is the popular defeater of VPL...g.:

Then we have some colonial outcrop wot calls its' trousers..strides!!! and another wot called them pants, would you believe?..l;,

strides are large steps and pants are undergarments,r:;

In Ghana when I went to the OB she told me to take off my pants, but I had already taken off my jeans, so I had this really blank look on face, she repeated it like 5 times, then I realized she was telling me to take of my "panties".

i never liked the word "wifebeater". I thought it sounded funny and weird. In (I call it undershirt :) In Hungary we call them "atléta" csounds similar to "athlete" because those are the ones wearing it (I guess in gymnastics, running, etc)

I love this topic - my major is linguistics. Life, dance and language: they're always changing.

Originally Posted by maranajla

Ohmygosh- I thought they were talking about roos, that they wear roos under their bathing suits- not that they wear shoes with their suits~ what an enlightening thread-thanks to all for their translations! :)

Eeeeer - so wot are Roos exactly?

Originally Posted by zumarrad

Yep, a singlet is a wifebeater.

Or more often (happily) a tank top.

We have singlets here in the US too, but they're the one-piece, bodysuit-like garments wrestlers and weight-lifters wear. What do you call those, if "singlet" is already taken?

God, I love this stuff.

Garsh, old thread here. But still a good one!

I'm so proud: I've finally figured out exactly what an "airing cupboard" is without having to ask the UK/Commonwealth contingent. I plan to take every opportunity to use the phrase in future, despite our not having any in this benighted land.

Originally Posted by shimmycelia

Eeeeer - so wot are Roos exactly?

In Aussie that is Aussie lingo for kangaroos

I've finally figured out exactly what an "airing cupboard" is without having to ask the UK/Commonwealth contingent.

Bonus points: if you're from Southland (like my mum) it's called the superheater cupboard. (Because the water heater is in it.)

I have neither in my house. They weren't invented in 1863, clearly. And my water heater is up in the roof. Such a waste of good drying.