English features a few loan words from Hungarian, and soon there may be one more. Above is the video of Socialist MEP Edit Herczog involved in a heated exchange with UKIP MEP Nigel Farage. While we’re still uncertain of which Hungarian közmondás (saying) Herczog was trying to insult the smarmy Farage with, her visibly angry response introduced the word popó (a polite way of saying butt) into the record of the European Parliament. It’s not quite the same as introducing the word “coach” into the English language, but we’ll settle with this for now.
Socialist MEP introduces “popó” into European Parliament, English language
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Oh dear, Edit Herczog didn’t do herself any
favours. If that is the calibre of MEP that we
expect of Hungary, or indeed any smaller European
country, then I simply cannot see any way that the
big boys (France, Germany etc) will not beat these
smaller countries into submission.
Nigel Farage is absolutely correct in his attack
on Baroness Ashdown. She now has the mandate to
represent ALL European foreign policy across the
world. I think it was Kissinger who said “If I
need to speak to Europe, who do I call?”
As of yesterday (I believe) George Orwell’s
prediction of a single European super state became
true: the Treaty of Lisbon is now valid. It’s
just that the citizens haven’t been told yet.
Basically if you think politics in Hungary is bad,
you ain’t seen nothing yet because our masters in
Brussels and Strasbourg, most of which have NOT
BEEN ELECTED, are running the show, and they offer
us absolutely no transparency and accountability
whatsoever. Just look at MEPs salaries and
expenses budget: it is secret.
Eds: Someone has suggested this is not a ‘Hungarian’ saying, but a translation from an Indian one: ‘The higher a monkey climbs a tree, the better the view of its arse’ (“Minél magasabbra mászik a majom a fára, annál jobban látszik a segge”). In this context (or any context for that matter), I have no idea what Herczog was attempting to communicate.
Vándorló, Herczog seems convinced it’s a Hungarian saying, but aside from being a misfired insult, no one’s quite sure what it was meant to be. Also, the video should start with Herczog now instead of at the beginning.
Actually, I thought the old “monkey showing his ass” saying is African in origin – seem to remember first hearing it there – though of course India also has plenty of monkeys and idiotic people, too.
@Erik: I’m pretty sure you are right, before today the only ones I knew close to this in meaning were African ones (Namibian if I remember well). Also, I think a better way of expressing the proverb in English would be ‘The higher a monkey climbs a tree, the more visible its ass.’
@Zoltan: Would love to know if this is related to a Hungarian proverb – I sort of mini-obsessively collect this stuff.
Well,now I know where that word came from! My father, American son of a German woman and German immigrant father, referred to his children’s bottoms as popós.
Never too late to learn about one’s childhood. Thank you!
@Elsbeth:
Actually in German “Po” is the word for behind, Popo is typical children’s language.
The intellectual level of those MEPs is really something, well we know that at least in Germany the useless politicians get transferred/retired/shipped off to the EP, where nobody really knows/cares what they do…
@mc, while there are many issues over MEP salaries
and expenses, they are most certainly not secret. As
of this year I read that MEPs receive a basic
monthly salary of 38.5% of a European Court judge’s
salary, around €84,000. Which perhaps means that
our children should aspire to being European Court
judges, rather than politicians.
Any more misinformation to offer?
@Bennie:
The problems typically arise not from the politicians’ salaries which are usually well documented but from their expenses.
Have you read about that scandal of British MPs’ expense accounts ? Asking for money for all kind of “strange” things like renting porn films, exchanging light bulbs, rent for houses owned by their spouses and so on…
@Benny
Re: “Which perhaps means that
our children should aspire to being European Court
judges, rather than politicians.”
Forget the EU – have those children come to Canada,
A Judge’s salary is approximately €165. per year
($260,000 CAN)
The stupid Communist cow, should not try to take on a skilled English orator with her limited language skills
Popó? Arse…bum..butt..shitter..tail.. moneymaker..
gluteus maximus… behind…bottom..backside…
derriere..and so on.
How high is that tree? Knee-high to a monkey’s arse.
Or: How high is that glacier? Knee high to a penguin’s popó.
The Brits consigned Neil Kinnock to Europe when he harbored delusions of becoming prime minister.
PS. Edit Herczog would be better served staying at home and cooking hubby some almas pite/apple pie?
Isn’t the saying about the monkey butt from Gibraltar, in reference to the Barbary apes? That would make its origin English wouldn’t it?
Or is it French, something along the lines of ‘le singe est dans l’arbre mais…’
It’s a quote from “The Phone Booth” (2003) with Colin Farrell.
Does Poland wish to change its name?