Hello, I hope this blog post finds you well. Last week a student directed me to an article with some lovely false friends. I thought I might share the deadliest with you today and add a couple of my own.
Undertaker – Unternehmer
This is my favourite of all the false friends. An “undertaker” is: “a person whose business is preparing dead bodies for burial or cremation and making arrangements for funerals.” (Oxford). Although he or she can set up their own business, that’s not what “undertaker” means. Someone who sets up one or more businesses hoping to make a profit is called an “entrepreneur” in English. Yes, I know. It’s exactly the same as “undertaker” but in French, zut alors!
Body bag – Body bag
An undertaker might have a use for a body bag, but generally it’s not a fashion item. Let’s have a look at some amazon reviews for a body bag:
“Can’t say I’m looking forward to trying it out”
“Super compact. Lots of handles, so will work very well as a stretcher.”
“I like that there’s no zipper on the inside. #zombieproof”
“First of all, this bag is NOT soundproof at all, but the seller didn’t advertise that it was, so I won’t subtract any stars for that, just make sure you plan accordingly.”
Taken from https://www.amazon.co.uk/Primacare-Heavy-Disaster-Pouch-Stretcher/dp/B001BX7YQS
Yes, a body bag is a bag to put a body in, not a bag to put on your body.
a gift – Gift
We all know to be careful not to mix up our gifts with “Gift” -a particularly deadly mistake and one that will get you straight onto Santa’s naughty list and probably behind bars!
Public Viewing – Public Viewing
Maybe the undertaker might want to sell some body bags at a public viewing. Chances are though that only the star of the show will need one. A public viewing is when friends and relatives of a deceased person can view the body!
OK I wish you a healthy and fun week. Look out for those false friends.
Take care
Sally