Uglier Than a Monkey's Armpit: Untranslatable Insults, Put-downs and Curses from Around the World

I love the way different languages can say the same thing in such different ways, and this book is a great example of it. The insults themselves are hilarious - you'll laugh out loud - but they also tell a lot about the culture that they come from and what that culture values. Like, did you know that the worst insult in Finnish is to call someone 'unreliable'? I really enjoyed this book and recommend it. If you know anyone who enjoys languages or travel or just clever turns of phrase, this would make a great present.

Have you ever wanted to really offend someone? If you were Spanish, you could tell them that they were uglier than a monkey's armpit! This book covers languages from around the world, both modern and ancient, and is an ideal guide to insulting those around you in an original way. Some of the comments are fairly gentle, such as the French "tu me prends la tête" (literally "you are taking my head") to tell someone to stop nagging you, but others are much harsher, for example, "taru nakkhod jai" in Gujarati ("may destruction befall you") and some, like the Latin "pedicabo ego vos et irrumabo" (a famous line of poetry by Catullus, which I won't translate here as Amazon might not publish it!) are downright rude. What is particularly great about this book is that the origins of the phrases are explained so that the reader can learn a bit about the mentality of other cultures at the same time as being entertained. There are even illustrations of gestures that you can try out on your friends - or enemies! I'd certainly recommend this book - not just to those interested in languages and word origins, but also to anyone who wants to be a little more creative in their insults.

What fun! There's something tirelessly amusing about bad language that you don't grow out of in adulthood, though you might become better at hiding your sniggers. I'd challenge anyone not to enjoy this rollocking guide to insults through the ages, or to not be tempted to try them out on unsuspecting audiences of various cultures ... It's also beautifully produced and illustrated, with an entertainingly informative introduction to each language section. Classic.

I was expecting this to be just a list of funny words in different languages. It is that, but Vanderplank's text also manages to make some telling observations about national characters and cultures from the insults he documents.

The insults themselves vary from lyrical (Turkey and Russia) to downright revolting (Dutch and Afrikaans) and just plain funny - Spain and Iceland are two of my favourites.

Very funny, surprisingly informative and definitely recommended.