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gwilgat (Breton, France) to watch from the corner of one’s eye

langut (Malay) to look upwards longingly

pangangalumbabà (Tagalog, Philippines) a pensive look (with the head supported by the palm)

ingikaranawá (Sinhala, Sri Lanka) to wink significantly

vekaveka (Luvale, Zambia) the shiftiness of eyes, looking here and there with madness or evil intent

temuna (Luvale, Zambia) to pull down an eyelid in mockery

embila (Maguindanaon, Philippines) to pretend to be cross-eyed

Cyrano

The French say that ‘a big nose never spoiled a handsome face’, a charitable judgement, perhaps influenced by the many fine probosci to be found in that country. But others have more serious problems than mere size:

khuranásá (Sinhala, Sri Lanka) one having a nose like a horse’s hoof

tapíl (Tagalog, Philippines) flat-nosed

bapp-nose (Scots) a nose threatening to meet the chin

ngongò (Tagalog, Philippines) one who talks with a twang due to a nasal disorder

patināsikā (Pali, India) a false nose

Lughole

Big or small, flat or sticky-out, our final external organs on the head are also closely observed by our worldwide languages:

anak telinga (Malay) the external gristly portion of the ear

budálu (Telugu, India) the place where the top of the ear meets the head

ukkanna (Pali, India) having the ears erect

n’wii (Tsonga, South Africa) to have buzzing in the ears, as when under water

parece Volkswagen con las puertas abiertas (Latin American Spanish) big-eared (literally, he looks like a Volkswagen with the doors open)

Grass belong head

In the Tok Pisin language of Papua New Guinea, they call hair gras bilong het. Such grass may take different forms, quite apart from appearing in all the wrong places:

kesuir (Malay) hairy nostrils

gejigeji-mayuge (Japanese) bushy eyebrows (literally, centipede eyebrows)

giri-giri (Hawaiian Pidgin) the place where two or three hairs stick up no matter what

mas (Hindi) soft hair appearing above a lad’s upper lip, heralding the imminent advent of youth

kapúcchala (Sanskrit) a tuft of hair on the hind part of the head (hanging down like a tail)

pédevádu (Telugu, India) a man upon whose face hair does not grow

Octopus monk

For many men age brings a related and inescapable problem:

katok (Russian) a bald patch (literally, a skating rink)

baakoodo hage (Japanese) said of a man with receding hair who combs what remains at the sides over the top of his head (literally, barcode bald, due to how it looks viewed from above)

hlohlwe (Tsonga, South Africa) a forehead with corners devoid of hair (applied to a person whose hair is receding)

tako-nyudo (Japanese) a baldy (literally, octopus monk)

Oeuf-tête

The French, in particular, have a fine range of expressions for this challenging condition:

avoir le melon déplumé to have a plucked melon

avoir une boule de billard to have a billiard ball

ne plus avoir de cresson sur la cafetière no longer to have watercress on the coffeepot

ne plus avoir de gazon sur la platebande no longer to have a lawn on the flowerbed

avoir la casquette en peau de fesses to have a cap made out of buck skin

être chauve comme un genou to be as bald as a knee

avoir un vélodrome à mouches to have a velodrome for flies

Well-armed

We have upper and lower arms and elbows, but the Swedes have a word for the opposite side of the arm from the elbow – armveck. Other useful words stress the practical uses of these appendages:

kwapatira (Chichewa, Malawi) to carry something tucked under the arm

cholat (Malay) to dig with the elbow or the hand

athevotho (Bugotu, Solomon Islands) to swing the arms, wave or clear away smoke

On reflection

Japanese birthdays

In the West, the birthdays that are particularly celebrated are those of coming of age: 18 and 21. In Japan, the older you get the more solemnly your birthday (sanga) is celebrated. The birthdays of especial importance are:

40: shoro, the beginning of old age, since Confucius said: ‘When I was forty I did not wander.’

61: kanreki, the completion of