Scandinavian words that mean something different in English – a little guide
At the end of every fairy tale, they all lived happily ever after. Slut. You also slut when you finish a phone call. It means ‘end’. If you change your settings on your iphone to Danish, Swedish or Norwegian, every call will end with a ‘slut’.
Fart
We have fart controls. We have fart hinders. Our lifts fart. As do our buses. Fart means speed.
Prik
A little prik will do. It means dot. You can also prik someone on Facebook and it means ‘poke’. But this isn’t 2008 so no prikking on Facebook.
Slag
We’ve got many slags of herring at ScandiKitchen. It means ‘type of’. Can also mean to beat or hit. Don’t slag me.
Tvätt
In Swedish, your laundry is known as your tvätt. Your washing powder could be ‘for all slags tvätt’.
Slut-spurt
There’s lots of slutspurting going on in the shops of Denmark and Sweden at sale time. It means ‘the final spurt’. It’s better than saying ‘end of sale’, isn’t it? In Sweden, it’s referred to as ‘Slut Rea’.
Bra
Nothing to do with boobs. It means ‘good’. But if you speak Scots or read The Broons, you already knew that, because it’s the same word in Glasgow too. Braw.
Titta
Titta ye not, because there’s no smut with this word in Sweden. It means ‘to watch’. People who watch TV are called ‘tittare’.
Kock / kok
You can be Head Kock in Sweden. Or a Master Kok in Denmark. But only if you can cook, because that’s what it means.
Kant
It means ‘edge’. Yes, we know what it sounds like. But the edge of the plate is a ‘kant’.
Kiss
When a Swede has a ‘kiss’, it means they’re urinating. Remember that one.
