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vendere ghiaccio agli eschimesi (Italian) selling ice to the Eskimos

echar agua al mar (Spanish) to throw water into the sea

es como llevar naranjas a Valencia (Spanish) it is like taking oranges to Valencia

vizet hord a Dunába (Hungarian) he is taking water to the Danube

gi bakerbarn brød (Norwegian) to give bread to the child of a baker

vender mel ao colmeeiro (Portuguese) to sell honey to a beemaster

12.

Upping Sticks

suusan tsetsnees yavsan teneg deer (Mongolian)

a travelling fool is better than a sitting wise person

You can’t spend your whole life flopping around in one place. Sooner or later, whatever traveller’s nerves you may feel, you just have to up sticks and go:

gabkhron (Boro, India) to be afraid of witnessing an adventure

resfeber (Swedish) to be jittery before a journey

andlamuka (Tsonga, South Africa) to pack up and depart, especially with all one’s belongings, or to go for good

bishu (Chinese) to be away from a hot place in the summer

campanilismo (Italian) local pride, attachment to the vicinity (literally, bell tower-ism – referring to the fact that people do not want to travel so far as to be out of sight of the bell tower)

Reindeer’s piss

A journey’s a journey whether you are going near …

poronkusema (Finnish) the distance equal to how far a reindeer can travel without a comfort break – about 5 kilometres (literally, reindeer’s piss)

tonbogaeri (Japanese) to go somewhere for business and come right back without staying the night (literally, dragonfly’s return)

… or far:

donde San Pedro perdió el guarache (Mexican Spanish) to the back of beyond; at the ends of the earth (literally, where St Peter lost his sandal)

tuwatauihaiw-ana (Yamana, Chile) to be absent a very long time and thus cease to remember or care for your country and people (as an emigrant might after a long absence)

False friends

travel (Norwegian) busy

crush (Romani) to get out

bias (Malay) deflected from its course

grind (Dutch) gravel

Wanderlust

Some people just can’t wait to get going:

Tapetenwechsel (German) being bored with the place you’re in and wishing to go somewhere else (literally, let’s change the wallpaper)

echarse el pollo (Chilean Spanish) to get out of town (literally, to throw out the chicken)

amenonéhne (Cheyenne, USA) to sing while walking along

henkyoryugaku (Japanese) young women who in their twenties and thirties rebel against social norms and travel abroad to devote time to an eccentric art form such as Balinese dancing (literally, studying abroad in the wild)

Tag-along

But it can get lonely out there, so consider taking a companion:

uatomoceata (Yamana, Chile) to pass your arm within another’s and bring him along, as friends do

adi (Swahili) to accompany a person part of their way out of politeness

Lebensgefahrte (German) one who travels life’s road with you

nochschlepper (Yiddish) a fellow traveller, tag-along, camp follower, pain in the arse (literally, someone who drags along after someone else)

ku-sebeya (Ganda, Uganda) to travel with one’s husband

Wire donkey

Travel on two wheels is always economical, and can be more or less environmentally sound:

der Drahtesel (German) a bicycle (literally, wire donkey)

washa (Luvale, Zambia) a bicycle (from the sound it makes as it runs along a narrow path brushing against bushes)

stegre (Sranan Tongo, Surinam) to ride a bicycle or a motorized two-wheel vehicle on only the back wheel

bromponie (Afrikaans) a motor scooter (literally, a growling or muttering pony)

Loosely bolted

And though four wheels are faster, there is many a pitfall:

sakapusu (Sranan Tongo, Surinam) an unreliable vehicle, so called because you always need to get out (saka) and push (pusu)

galungkung (Maguindanaon, Philippines) the rattling sound produced by a loosely bolted car

der Frischfleischwagen (German) an ambulance (literally, fresh meat delivery van)

parte (Chilean Spanish) a traffic ticket; also a baptism or wedding invitation

gagjom