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madogiwazoku (Japanese) those who have little to do (literally, window gazers)

jeito (Brazilian Portuguese) to find a way to get something done, no matter what the obstacles

Métro-boulot-dodo

This cheery French expression describes life in a none-too-optimistic way. Literally translated as ‘tube-work-sleep’ it summarizes the daily grind, hinting strongly that it’s pointless.

Carrot …

Motivation is a key factor, and employers who want maximum productivity find different ways of achieving this:

Mitbestimmung (German) the policy in industry of involving both workers and management in decision-making

vydvizhenchestvo (Russian) the system of promotion of workers to positions of responsibility and authority

kaizen (Japanese) the continuous improvement of working practices and personal efficiency as a business philosophy

… and stick

paukikape (Ancient Greek) the projecting collar worn by slaves while grinding corn in order to prevent them from eating it.

German work ethic

The Germans have long had a reputation for working hard. Inevitably, though, alongside the Urlaubsmuffel, or person who is against taking vacations, there is also the Trittbrettfahrer (literally, running-board rider), the person who profits from another’s work. And along with the studious Technonomade (someone who conducts most of their business on the road, using laptops and mobiles), you will find the less scrupulous schwarzarbeiten (preferring to do work not reported for taxes).

False friends

biro (Arabic) office

adman (Arabic) offering better guaranty

ganga (Spanish) bargain

mixer (Hungarian) barman

slug (Gaulish) servant

fat (Cantonese) prosperity

hot (Romanian) thief

baker (Dutch) nurse

The deal

Others have less noble ways of getting ahead:

zhengquan-duoli (Chinese) to jockey for power and scramble for profit

jinetear el dinero (Spanish, Central America) to profit by delaying payment

tadlis (Persian) concealing the faults of goods on sale

qiang jingtou (Chinese) a fight by a cameraman for a vantage point (literally, stealing the show)

grilagem (Brazilian Portuguese) the old practice of putting a cricket in a box of newly faked documents, until the moving insect’s excrement makes the papers look plausibly old and genuine (literally, cricketing)

On the take

If sharp practice doesn’t work, then the best thing to do is cast all scruples aside:

bustarella (Italian) a cash bribe (literally, a little envelope)

dhurna (Anglo-Indian) extorting payment by sitting at the debtor’s door and staying there without food, threatening violence until your demands are met

sola (Italian) a swindle in which you don’t share the loot with your accomplice

sokaiya (Japanese) a blackmailer who has a few shares in a large number of companies and tries to extort money by threatening to cause trouble at the shareholders’ annual general meetings

TST (Tahu Sama Tahu) (Indonesian) ‘you know it, I know it’: a verbal agreement between two people, one usually a government official, to cheat the state

Hard cash

In the end, it all comes down to one thing:

lechuga (Caribbean Spanish) a dollar bill (literally, lettuce)

kapusta (Russian) money (literally, cabbage)

mahiyana (Persian) monthly wages or fish jelly

wampum (Algonquian, Canada) strings of beads and polished shells, used as money by native Americans

Spongers

If you don’t have much money yourself, there are always ways around the problem:

gorrero (Spanish, Central America) a person who always allows others to pay

piottaro (Italian) one who carries very little cash

Zechpreller (German) someone who leaves without paying the bill

dar mico (Caribbean Spanish) to consume without paying

seigneur-terrasse (French) one who spends much time but little money in a café (literally, a terrace lord)

Neither a borrower nor a lender be

Indonesian has the word pembonceng to describe someone who likes to use other people’s facilities, but the Pascuense language of Easter Island has gone one step further in showing how the truly unscrupulous