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From: John Cowan <cowan@ccil.org>
Subject: Re: False friends (was Re: German/English words)
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In article <32CB7A17.CC0@twics.com> "Rene v. Rentzell" <rrr@twics.com>
writes:
>Gordon or Connie Marigold wrote:
>>
>> My own favorite among the German/English false friends is gift.  I once
>> *told* the daughter of a friend *not* to write "gift" on the outside of
>> the package she was sending her parents.  She ignored my advice, wrote
>> it, and the tale of what her parents had to go through to get that
>> package ("Gift" means "poison" in German) has become a family legend.
>
>This tale itself sounds a bit like an urban legend. Surely in this
>day and age the post office doesn't stumble about an indication
>"gift" on a package originating from abroad?

I heard a reverse version of this tale: that an American soldier
who was relocated from a base in Germany back to the U.S. had trouble
getting his household goods unpacked: the U.S. movers refused
to handle boxes that were clearly marked WORMS on the outside.

-- 
John Cowan						cowan@ccil.org
			e'osai ko sarji la lojban
