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| Apart from the name of a moutnain in the Alps, a Montblanc in English is a brand of fountain pens. | But in Japanese, you wouldn't mind biting into a Mont Blanc, because here it is a cake! |
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| Shoe cream is a thick cream which you use to shine shoes with, usually containing a pigment of the same color as the shoe. Nothing you would ever dream of eating. | But in Japan, the land of the Iron Chef and food comics, Shu Cream, is a type of cream stuffed cake! Legend has it that the word originated from French, choux á la créme |
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| As everyone knows, a mansion is a large and stately house usually with some historical significance. The "castle" in the photo is the Carson Mansion in California. | In Japan however, a mansion, is something quite ordinary and drab: It is an apartment or a condominium, usually one of a series of uniformly build ones as a part of a large residential block!! |
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| A stove is a cooking range, usually with an oven underneath. And always confined to the kitchen. | Here in Japan though, you can find stoves anywhere in the house, because here a stove is the name given to kerosene based or electrical heaters! |
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| A sign can mean many things, a symbol or an indication of something, but usually it is a legibly printed and easily noticeable placard with some information on it. | But if in Japan you are asked for a sign, what we mean is, a signature! To sign.. A sign.. you can see where it came from! |
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| In English an American dog is just a dog residing in the United States. He might have an American flag around his neck like the one in the photo, but nobody would dream of eating him! | In Japan though, an American Dog is a kind of hot dog with a stick in it and with the dough not baked but deep fried in oil! |
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| Viking is a Scandinavian loanword, used about the Norse seafaring warriors who in ancient times raided the coasts of Scandinavia and Europe. | Returning to the world of gastronomy, "viking" in Japanese is simply a synonym for a buffet style dinner, or a smorgasbord. |
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| In English "to consent" to something, means to agree or to allow. | But, and I am sure no-one guessed this, a concent is an electrical outlet or a power point! |
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| Punk is a genre of music or a lifestyle that indicates an absolute rejection of conformity. It can also be used derogatory about a person. | Japanese use the word punk though, as a short for a puncture! |