Teach yourself Gaelic
Tòin: bottom/butt/bum
A hard word to pronounce: say 'toon', but then add a short y-sound to the end of the n-sound. It has all the sniggering, 10-year-old connotations of the English word bum, and it's the kind of word to avoid in very polite company, but an exasperated parent might shout at a child "Suidh air do thòin" (See ur do thoon), sit on your bottom. One arguably controversial use of the word crops up in geography; the south of England, especially the south-east, is often called "Tòin Shassain", literally the arse-end of England. "A bheil an tòin agam a' coimhead mòr le seo?" (Uh vull mo hoon uh koo-wad more le shaw?) Does my bum look big in this? "Chan eil" (kha nyul), no, is always the answer.
The full article contains 146 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
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Last Updated:
29 March 2008 8:21 PM
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Source:
Scotland On Sunday
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Location:
Scotland
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Related Topics:
Gaelic language