Skip to content

Category Archives:
Swedish

Splendid Pears

Referring to a specific grandparent, it quickly becomes confusing (in English). There is simply no way of knowing which grandparent you mean if you say for example “my grandmother”, i.e. which of your parents’ mother? This is similar to Norwegian, where the word “bestefar” and “bestemor” are used for both sets of grandparents. “Beste”, is […]

Sun- secure

SOLSÄKRA (Swe) = “sun-secure” verb • to ensure you get some sun action on your vacation by getting a ticket to a warmer/sunnier destination (such as Greece, Crete, Turkey or Mallorca) rather than hoping for (unreliable) sun in Sweden during the weeks you have off work in the summer. The travel agencies notice that during […]

Have-crazy

The Swedish word hagalen, is made up of “ha” (have) and “galen” (crazy) In English: acquisitive or more informal, grabby. None of which are a perfect fit (to acquire something, or to want to grab it, is not exactly the same as wanting to have it): “Taking” or “grabbing” is very aggressive and culpable, whereas […]

Hux Flux

Hux Flux is a [Swedish] expression, which is used to mark when something happens: all of a sudden / unexpectedly / abruptly / out of nowhere / without warning. Hux flux, the electricity went out, and people started to panic. She met a Hollywood actor and hux flux she was a Scientologist. Hux flux winter […]

Bread text #1

The Swedish word for “text body” is brödtext = “bread text”. ROLL. An American roll equals a Swedish FRALLA. “Frallan” is also a nickname for the boy name Frans* Another crusty bread is the BAGUETTE, the french staple, which apparently isn’t even french to begin with. In Sweden, this bread is called PAIN RICHE, “rich […]