I dig a pony
English words are adapted for use in German all the time. It’s not uncommon to hear a sentence in which half the words are English, especially if the speaker is young and hip. To a much lesser extent, the Italians do this, too. Often the meaning of the word stays the same, or at least mostly the same, but sometimes the definition gets completely scrapped for a new, unrelated one. Smoking. Mobbing. Pony.*
Back when I worked in Milan, the receptionist called me at my desk one day with an important message: “C’è un pony per Lei.” There’s a pony for you. I imagined a barnyard animal standing at her desk waiting for me to come get it. I tried to explain to my Italian colleagues why their use of the word pony was so amusing, but they just thought I was a little nuts.
As you probably guessed from that little story, in Italian pony means “package”. (No, not that kind of package. Pervert.) As in, something that could be delivered by the Pony Express. If the Pony Express existed now, and in Italy. Which it does not. And even if it did, I doubt it would deliver ponies (although Pony Express certainly would be the obvious name choice for a service specializing in pony delivery). But perhaps I digress.
The Germans aren’t so silly. They know better than to call a package a pony. They know that a pony isn’t related to delivery services, but rather to hair. Thinking pony tail? Not so fast… In German, a pony is what we in English refer to as bangs (fringe, to the Brits). Any guesses on the origin of that one?
* In German, Smoking means tuxedo, and Mobbing means harassment (usually by a group in a work or school environment).
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In unrelated news, my new computer arrives tomorrow. Yay! Can’t wait to get back to my regular diet of internet access (and blogging).
