Anonymous asked: The sanskrit phrase शुभ कामनाएँ really means something like blessings and 'I wish you well' etc. Its usually said when greeting someone for a festival and things like that. So it could sort of mean good luck. And its pronounced as shubh- kaam-na-yein (the last 'n' being only the nasal sound - sorry im a pronunciation nazi!)

Thank you, that was super helpful!

This means that I still don’t precisely know what “good luck” is in Sanskrit. So if you were hoping to—oh, I don’t know, get a tattoo or something—I would definitely double-check with a source that is not this blog, which is run by a person who unfortunately but definitely does not know Sanskrit.

(see this ask)

Anonymous asked: do you know the sanskrit word for 'good luck' or just 'luck'? :)

nnno actually I don’t. I believe शुभ कामनाएँ (Shubh Kaamnaayein) is “good luck” in Hindi. I kept finding people who said that सौभाग्य (pronounced something like soubhaagya) was “good luck” in Sanskrit (with भाग्य being just “luck”). However, an anon said that

The Sanskrit phrase शुभ कामनाएँ really means something like blessings and ‘I wish you well’ etc. It’s usually said when greeting someone for a festival and things like that.  So it could sort of mean good luck.

(see this ask)

Anonymous asked: any synonyms to the verb laugh? I'm only getting chuckled and snickered... (and i love the way you answered the last one)

“A Spanish-speaking man who didn’t speak English well was in an American store, looking to buy socks. Unable to find them, he approached a nice-looking saleswoman who asked if she could help. ’Quiero calcetines,’ the man said.

“‘I’m afraid I don’t speak any Spanish, but we have some nice suits on this side,’ said the woman, trying to be helpful.

“‘No, no quiero trajes. Quiero calcetines,’ said the man.

“The woman said, ‘Well, what about these shirts? They’re on sale this week.’

“‘No, no quiero camisas. Quiero calcetines,’ he said.

“‘I’m sorry, I still don’t know what you’re trying to say,’ said the saleswoman. ‘There are some fine pants on this rack.’

“The man insisted, ‘No, no quiero pantalones. Quiero calcetines.’

“‘Our undershirts are over here,’ she tried, beginning to lose patience.

“‘No, no quiero camisetas. Quiero calcetines!’ the man repeated.

“But as they passed the underwear section, the man spotted a display of socks and grabbed a pair excitedly. Showing them to her, he exclaimed, ‘Eso sí que es!’

“‘Well, if you could spell it,’ said the exasperated saleswoman, ‘why didn’t you do that in the beginning?’”

[significant pause]

The blog owner, looking slightly dismayed, says, “That was a joke! No? Not a single boffola? No one’s going to chuckle, snicker, giggle, titter, crow, howl, chortle, guffaw, or cachinnate?”

She sighs. “Well, it means roughly ‘That’s what it is!’ Please don’t get mad at me for this joke. Or for how unnecessarily long this answer is.” As an afterthought, she adds, “I was actually surprised by how few synonyms there are for ‘laugh’. But of course there are many ways to describe amusement without it.”

Anonymous asked: Do you know any adverbs that are synonyms to 'rudely' or 'harshly' ?

Brusquely, she rattled off, “Roughly, curtly, snippily, abrasively, gruffly, crudely, sharply, abruptly, derisively, disparagingly, bluntly, acidly, acerbically, nastily, caustically.”

“And also brusquely,” she added, her tone milder, and slightly apologetic for her earlier rudeness. “Of course, there are probably more, and not all of these are exact synonyms, but you can see which one feels right for you.”