The Japanese love to wear clothes with English on them because it supposedly looks cool, yet they often can’t understand what these slogans say. This week I had one student with the expression “No Time to Kill” emblazoned on her shirt, which although perfectly acceptable English, I doubt this housewife is busy enough to warrant wearing such a shirt!
Clothing manufacturers take advantage of this ‘English is fashionable’ attitude and produce shirt after shirt with random English words that make no sense. How about this one:
Now where I come from, the word ‘spunk’ refers to number three in this list from the American Heritage Dictionary:
spunk (spÅngk) n.
- Informal Spirit; pluck.
- Punk, touchwood, or other tinder.
- Vulgar Slang Ejaculated semen.
If you can remember any ‘Funny English’ shirts, leave a comment below or send an email (with a picture if you have one) to ‘nick at the title of this blog’.
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