EXPRESSIONS OF EUROPE

Europe is the continent of linguistic creativity.

If we pay attention to our neighbors jokes, tongue
twisters or spoonerisms, we discover many ways of
thinking and understanding the world. One may
notice for instance that every European country do
jokes about one or various of its neighbors. This
illustrate the special kind of links which bind nations
together. One may also notice that behind funny
tongue twisters, there are sometimes amazing
stories. It learns us a lot on the historical
backgrounds of each country. This section will mainly
revolves around those European expressions, trying
to introduce them in a transnational outlook.

EUROPEAN JOKES
Europe doesnt grow because of the treaties.It grows from
the heart of the citizens, or is doomed to failure. Konrad
Adenauer
Spain On Portuguese people
Portugal is the only country in the world where a mans
mistress is uglier than his wife
Portugal On Spanish people
How do you recognize a Spaniard in a library?
He is the only one to look after a world map of Madrid
Belgium On French people
Why do we say going to the toilets in France and going to
the toilet in Belgium ?
Because in France, you have to visit many of them before
finding one clean enough.

United-Kingdom On Irish people

Then there was the cross-eyed Irish
teacher who resigned because he had no
control over his pupils.
Ireland On British people
What does an Englishman do for thrills?
Eats an After Eight mint at 7:30.
Sweden On Norwegian people
How do you say genius in Norway?
A tourist.

Italy On Italian people

What do you call an Italian with his hands in
his pocket?
A mute
Romania On Romanian people
What is small, dark, and knocking at the
door?
The future
Bulgaria On Macedonian people
What do you call a Bulgarian trying to
understand Macedonian history?
A person without a chance.

Albania On Greek people

What do you call a Greek with 300
hundred wives?
A Shepherd!

EUROPEAN SUPERSTITIONS

The creation of the United States of Europe is a necessity if we

consider the economic and technical situation. Whether the
union suffice to peace and security can not be predicted by
anyone with certainty, but I think a yes is more likely than a
no. Albert Einstein

Portugal - Spilling wine on the table brings

good luck while walking backwards brings
bad luck
Spain - Hearing a cricket brings good luck
while being a Tuesday 13th brings bad
luck
France - Touching the red pompom of a
sailors beret brings luck while putting bread
upside down on the table heralds bad luck
Iceland - Moving to a new house on a rainy
day brings luck while white calf born in
winterheraldsbad weather

Ireland - Finding a Shamrock brings good

luck while killing a robin brings bad luck
United-Kingdom - Repeating white rabbits
the first day of the month brings luck while
seeing a magpie brings misfortune
Austria - Eating raw sliced garlic mixed up
with yogurt brings good luck (yuk!) while
telling dreams before drinking of water brings
bad luck
Italy - Encounteringthe number 13 is
considered lucky while encountering the
number 17 is regarded as a bad omen

Slovakia - Throwing water to girls (on

special occasions!) brings good luck while
killing spiders brings bad luck
Romania Moldova - Spilling coffee brings
goof luck while blowing a candle brings bad
luck
Bulgaria - Splashing some water brings
good luck while sewing a dress on yourself
brings bad luck
Macedonia - Knocking three times on wood
brings good luck, while not eating the last
piece of food brings misfortune

IN OUR MODERN TIME, IT IS NECESSARY TOHAVE THE

EUROPEAN SPIRIT MADAME DE STAL