Small talk, big laughs

“Eating house” is perfect English, but for some reason, it makes many people laugh. I confess, it made me laugh as well. First, it is considered as a direct translation of “eethuis” and second, it is probably the only cafe in the Netherlands that uses the words “eating house” instead of, well, cafe.

Small Talk Eating House

(Photo: Aukje from aukje.net)

7 Responses to “Small talk, big laughs”

  1. Irene says:

    Near Bitburg, in Germany, there is a road sign saying “Back shop”, Back pronounced the German way and shop … eh, the international way. So. You can buy bread and pastries there. I always read it the wrong way first, however many times I’ve passed it.

  2. Aukje says:

    Leuk om te lezen!

  3. Berna says:

    Would you buy anything in a shop named “bad shop”? Of course “bad” was meant to be pronounced the Dutch way, and they sold bath and shower articles…

  4. languagehat.com says:

    DUNGLISH.
    Natashka’s interesting new blog Dunglish features unfortunate attempts by Dutch-speakers to write things in English. Recent entries have highlighted the Small Talk Eating House,” a sign that says “Beware of pickpockets. Please hang your vallues on t…

  5. Natashka says:

    Thanks Steve!

  6. Kalief says:

    Googlen op: “eating house” site:.co.uk geeft toch nog 5130 resultaten. In een café krijg je overigens niet veel te eten.

  7. Olaf says:

    I drank a cup of coffee there 2 weeks ago 😀

Powered by WordPress - Copyright © 2005-2021 Oh La La, The Netherlands. All rights reserved.