But I'm sure there are better synonyms, somewhere.

"Hoe kun je me dat aandoen?", I yell at the offending book. It blushes.

arn tutkhan = having to rise early before anyone else is about; addressing a machine

bagi rack = apologising as a form of attack; a stick resembling a gun

bit san = a reverie lasting more than 20 years and of a blasphemous nature

bi tvas = a reverie lasting more than 20 years on geological themes

cham on th zam = being witty when nobody else appreciates it

ink th o = morality used as an offensive weapon

kundulum = to be well and in bed with two pretty sisters

mal = a feeling of being watched from within

karndal chess = the waste of a day or a year by doing nothing; fasting

I love the way each language has internal connections that seem natural to native speakers and utterly weird to everyone else. Like "aandoen = move" which seems simple enough, but then you have "aandoening = infection" and "aandoen = to call at a place"... but that doesn't make <aandoenlijk> mean "infectiously" or "calling-at-a-place-like", does it?>

WOW! Boy, even now *I* am a bit off balance by the (seeming) ambiguity, uselessness and lack of connectability(?) of <aandoen>

Even m'n jas aandoen = put my coat on ( like you can catch a cold -- the virus has come very close (aandoening) as is your coat "close" when you are wearing it

A word in English that comes to mind is:

"being [taken by], [taken to]" -- which has so many uses in English

- I am taken by that piece of music

- that piece of music took me to another place

- that seat is taken

- the bus has taken me to a lovely town

<aan-doen> is probably in the same sort of category -- a (relatively ordinary) verb connected to an adverb..

This is just off the top of my head, just came back from a walk with the doggy, but you've got me thinking alright, <Dom>.. For a foreigner trying to look for some logic in a language this "aandoen---" is a nightmare.

So today's word for which we seek the etymological root is <poopycok>. One will need a fairly good dictionary.

G'day, g'day.

We don't realize how much we miss you till you <scarper>, as you do periodically.

Though we all wish you well on your <escarpades>.

I learned the word <scarper> from <VIZ Comics>.

What is the <entomology>?

Are you currently dressed up in an <ant suit>, by any chance?

Or as the ant expert EO Wilson said about communism: "Wonderful theory, wrong species".

(1) write down what I say

(2) remove that picture from the wall

(3) lower your pants

Meaning "you can take down the pot, I want no part of it."

Also popular is "I'm gonna tap you tight", meaning

Stack them all up, turn them face down. Bet your friends that you can place them back in perfect order, even if you let 6 different people make a simple cut.

So, one by one, let 6 different people take some cards off of the top, placing them on the bottom. DO NOT let them shuffle, just CUT.

If you don't have 6 people, pass the cards around the group until exactly 6 cuts have been made.

Then, take back the cards and say: "Now I will make 1 cut, and get them all back in perfect order."

Cut the cards once yourself.

Deal the cards face down, 4 in one row, 4 underneath them, and 5 in the last row. This is 13 cards. Deal the next 4 cards on top of the first 4. The 4 after that place on top of the second group of 4. The next 5 on top of the 5 you dealt in row 3.

Ask them to turn over the cards.

Then deal out the rest of the deck face up.

You will have all the 2's, all of the 3's, all of the 4's, etc., in their respective piles.

Test it out yourself first.

Cut an ordered deck of cards 7 times.

"pappekak" is not a used word, I reckon.. (one can never be 100% sure) So I'd suggest "slappe stront" as Dutch for <poppycrock> to replace pappekak.

Wait a minute! What the hell is going on in here!

<Take this dowm..> Another example: To catch a cold = een koudje oplopen. Now "oplopen" is made up by/of two words.. op = on (two objects "op" each other) or up ( up and down = op en neer )

lopen = walking - but can also be used as "laat maar lopen..." = leave it be/ do not pursue (it) any longer.. etc.

So, to catch a cold = een koudje oplopen -- the word oplopen seems to make NO SENSE at all.. "I walked up a cold.." (or something) "while walking up the river".. heh

<aandoen> doen = "faire" in French, and in both languages it can be used in countless ways, when connected with an adverb even more so. There will be a verb like that in any language I think. "aan" can also be used in multiple ways, both connected (with a verb), as well on its own. E.g. "aandachtig" can be translated by "paying close attention/with concentration" ...Hey, <paying> has an odd connection here... (I resign ..)

What is my point?

Not sure.. Probably that I agree with what <Dom> said yerterday: <I love the way each language has internal connections that seem natural to native speakers and utterly weird to everyone else.> Added to that, if you really start digging, the internal conections are sometimes explainable. (At least they should be I think...)

When asking <Jessica> recently about the use of <proved vs proven>, she started out making a solid case, putting in a lot of effort, but ended up with a loud:

Ja, zo is 't. Daar is nou eenmaal niets aan te doen.

Meanwhile, in Buenos Aires, they have a Plaza Once... or "Eleven Square". Which is 121.