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olumonron (Yoruba, Nigeria, Benin and Togo) one who understands people’s problems, God

Candle cormorant

‘He who is near the church is often far from God,’ say the French; and there is always a risk of substituting religiosity for virtue:

hywl (Welsh) religious or emotional fervour, as experienced with preaching, poetry reading, sporting events, etc.

une grenouille de bénitier (French) an extremely devout churchwoman (literally, a frog of the holy-water basin)

Kerzlschlucker (Austrian German) an insufferably pious person who never misses a mass (literally, a candle cormorant)

On a hedgehog’s back

The English language is full of relics of our former, more religious days. The expression ‘crikey’ is a truncation of the oath ‘by Christ’s key’ and ‘bloody’ of ‘by our Lady’. Socrates swore ni ton kuna, by the dog; and Pythagoras is said to have sworn ma tin tetrakton, by the number four. Even atheistic Baudelaire swore by the sacred St Onion. The following expressions of astonished disbelief are just as outlandish:

Kors i taket! (Swedish) Cross in the ceiling! (used when something rare happens)

Toushite svet, vynosite chemodany! (Russian) Switch off the light and take out your suitcases! (used when something is a great surprise)

Holla die Waldfee! (German) Ooh, the forest’s fairy! (exclamation of surprise, often with an ironic connotation)

In groppa al riccio! (Italian) On a hedgehog’s back! (the response to which is Con le mutande di ghisa!, Wearing underpants made of cast iron!)

Sounds better

Japanese monks invented pious euphemisms so as not to taint the inner sanctum with jarring worldly words. Whipping came to be called nazu (caressing), tears shiotaru (dropping salt), money moku (eyes), testicles ryō gyaku (spiritual globes), and toilets kishisho (a place of truth).

Charismatic

However much some would prefer it if none of us believed in anything, it seems that holy men (and women) are here to stay:

vusitavant (Pali, India) one who has reached perfection (in chaste living)

mana (Polynesian dialect) the spiritual charisma attributed to holy people

samádhi (Tamil) the abstract contemplation of an ascetic, in which the soul is considered to be independent of the senses; a sepulchre, grave

nésajjika-dhutanga (Sinhala, Sri Lanka) a religious observance which restrains a man from sleeping or lying down

an-avakānkshamāna (Sanskrit) not wishing impatiently (said of ascetics who, having renounced all food, expect death without impatience)

anupabbajjā (Pali, India) giving up worldly life in imitation of another

On reflection

Magic numbers

Certain groupings have particular significance, particularly in Southern Asia.

3 tam-cuong (Vietnamese) the three fundamental bonds – prince and minister, father and son, husband and wife

4 tu-linh (Vietnamese) the four supernatural creatures – dragon, unicorn, tortoise, phoenix

5 bani khoms (Yemeni) practitioners of the five despised trades (barber, butcher, bloodletter, bath attendant and tanner)

6 luc-nghe (Vietnamese) the six arts – propriety, music, archery, charioteering, writing and mathematics

7 saptavidha-ratnaya (Sinhala, Sri Lanka) the seven gems or treasures of a Chakrawarti king – chariot wheel, wife, jewel, elephant, horse, son, prime minister

8 ashtāng (Hindi) prostration in salutation or adoration, so as to touch the ground with the eight principal parts of the body, i.e. with the knees, hands, feet, breasts, eyes, head, mouth and mind

9 nasāya-ratna (Sanskrit) the nine precious gems (pearl, ruby, topaz, diamond, emerald, lapis lazuli, coral, sapphire and garnet) which are supposed to be related to the nine planets

10 dasa-mūtraka (Sanskrit) the urine of ten (elephant, buffalo, camel, cow, goat, sheep, horse, donkey, man and woman)

Whistling in the wind

If your god isn’t interested you may just have to fall back on other means:

itinatalagá (Tagalog, Philippines) to place oneself at the mercy of fate

uhranout (Czech) to cast the evil eye on somebody, to bewitch someone

bino (Gilbertese,