комната - the room

Мой багаж в моей комнате. 

My luggage is in my room.

 

Это очень большая комната!

This is a very large room! 

das Zimmer - the room

Dieses Haus hat viele Zimmer.

This house has many rooms.

мост - a bridge

Вы знаете мосты Санкт-Петербурга?  

Do you know the bridges of Saint Petersburg?

 

В Портленде много мостов.

Portland has a lot of bridges. 

страна - country

Россия очень большая страна. 

Russia is a very big country.

 

В этой стране много людей.

There are many people in this country. 

Vocabulaire: des bas, le deuil, en berne

I love it when the search for elucidation on one word leads to another discovery, and so on.

des bas: stockings

• Chaussée avec un soin qui dénotait des habitudes d’élégance, elle portait des bas de soie gris qui complétaient la teinte de deuil répandue dans ce costume de convention.

le deuil: grief, bereavement

• Vingt enfants ont été tués dans une école primaire américaine.  Donc le président Obama a ordonné la mise en berne des drapeaux en signe de deuil.

en berne: [lit] at half-mast; [fig] falting, staggering

• On ne comptait plus les minutes de silence dans les institutions officielles, notamment en prélude à des rencontres politiques ou les drapeaux mis en berne.

• Il faut aussi retrouver l'intimité qu'une libido en berne a laissé s'éteindre.

Gamahouche

Gamahouche or gamahuche.   I came across this archaic term in, unlikely though it is, a modern urban murder mystery by highly lauded novelist Lawrence Block (in Burglars Can't Be Choosers, 1977).

It seems to be a Victorian term for cunniligus:

I was sliding the final drawer back in the desk when Ray asked, "What the hell does gamahouche mean?"

I made him spell it, then took the book away from him and looked for myself.  "I think it means to go down on a girl," I said.

I find it on the web at this Fark discussion, the Urban Dictionary of all things (it's usually a source for invented silliness or poorly written insults), the Wiktionary, and this rather steamy Victorian novel.

I shall endeavor to insert this word (heh heh) into modern parlance as often as mores allow.

Its etymology is unclear.

I could eat a horse

From the Inky Fool:

What with the news that almost every snack in Europe is actually my little pony, and the jokes about spaghetti bologneighs, I keep being asked about the origin of the phrase I could eat a horse. Specifically, does it mean:

1) I am so hungry that I could eat something as large as a horse, an elephant or a blue whale.

Or

2) I am so hungry that I would be prepared eat something unusual, like horse, squirrel or cockroach.

So I set off to trace the phrase back. It turned out to be popular all the way through the nineteenth century. But once you get far enough, the phrase changes to I could eat a horse behind the saddle. 

 So, it's not the largeness but the lack of appeal that is unusual in the phrase.

Also: "thirsty enough to drink barley-water."  Or, to use a modern equivalent, Cherry Pepsi.

Ciao, slave

Who knew?

ciao 

parting salutation, 1929, dialectal variant of Italian schiavo "(your obedient) servant," literally "slave," from Medieval Latin sclavus "slave" (see slave (n.)).

I love the Online Etymology Dictionary!

der Geburtstag - birthday

Wann hast du nochmal Geburtstag?

When is your birthday again?

мороженое - ice cream

Купи мороженое на десерт!

Buy ice cream for dessert! 

помыть - to wash

Не могли бы вы помыть картошку и грибы?

Can you wash the potatoes and mushrooms? 

гриб - a mushroom

У тебя есть грибы? Мне нужно купить грибы.

Do you have mushrooms?  I need to buy mushrooms. 

купить - to buy

Пожалуйста, купи мне конфеты.

Please buy me candy.

 

Мне нужно купить лук.

I need to buy onions.

лук - the onion

Не могли бы вы нарезать лук?

Can you cut the onions?

нарезать - to cut, slice

Мне нужно нарезать сыр.

I need to slice the cheese.