Adam Jacot de Boinod wrote a book called The Meaning Of Tingo, "a collection of words and phrases from around the world."
Here are some of the words in the book (from a BBC article)
katahara itai: the action of laughing so much that one side of your abdomen hurts. (Japanese)
gigi rongak: the space between the teeth. (Malaysian)
bakku-shan: a girl who appears pretty from behind but not from the front. (Japanese)
nakkele: a man who licks whatever the food has been served on (Tulu).
Putzfimmel: a mania for cleaning. (German)
Backpfeifengesicht: a face that cries out for a fist in it. (German)
uitwaaien: walking in windy weather for fun. (Dutch)
igunaujannguaq (literally meaning frozen walrus carcass): The game involves the person in the centre of a ring trying to remain stiff as he is passed around the ring, hand over hand. (Inuit)
Reader comment: Kevin reminds me that Howard Rheingold wrote a nice book on the same subject a number of years ago, called They Have a Word for It: A Lighthearted Lexicon of Untranslatable Words and Phrases.
