My late father-in-law used to speak Catalan reverse slang, which he had originally devised with his best mate, as a young man, so that la grossa (la sogra, the mother-in-law) would not understand them. (This was even funnier in a politically incorrect era because gros/grossa also means large or fat.) Decades later, Avi (grandad, to [...]

Clearing through truckloads of papers the other day, I came upon a priceless handwritten note from last summer that I’d given up for lost. Vinegar bug holes Rice with stroke Tail of quick shave to the oven Codfish to the old one These gems were from the English version of the menu at a restaurant [...]

Have you noticed how popular cats are in Catalan? ‘Quatre gats’ is the expression of choice to mean ‘only a few people’. It should be uttered with a dismissive gesture: ‘Bah! Només són quatre gats.’ Of course, Els Quatre Gats is a really famous Modernista coffee house and restaurant in Barcelona where Picasso and other [...]