On the Other Hand, What’s Left
There are parts of the world, still
Where the left hand is reviled
Or used for things like wiping
Your ass so don’t dare offer it
To shake another’s; there are
Parts of the Dark Continent where
You might even suffer having
It hacked clear off – the left
Is considered that much evil
In places there still and the history
Is apparent in languages throughout
The planet – some examples:
“Gauche” in French, of course
Has commonly come to mean
Awkward, clumsy, or other things
Of this ilk, even to many English
Speaking folk – for what could
Be cooler than to be cruel
En francais? In Hindi, “Ulta Haanth”
Literally translates to the opposite,
Wrong, or bad hand ...
And the Indonesian’s “Kidal”
While sounding cutesy with their
“Lefty” actually means something
Quite impolite ...
Mexican’s “Chueco” means
Twisted or non-straight but
That’s nothing compared
To the Portuguese’s take
“Canhoto” there is a popular
Name for the devil and when
Not being bandied about
As a moniker for Satan
Means simply clumsy or badly done
Still nothing very nice;
In Italian, the left-side is “sinistra”
For – what else? Sinister
And of course, Latin is right
Out there with it – sinister
The root of it all ...
The Italians will also use “Mancini”
On occasion – meaning
Crooked or maimed – giving
A sinister meaning even unto
The lame ...
The Irish say “Citog” for left,
Or stupid – although how
The two are synonymous
Is beyond me ...
On the other hand
Perhaps the lefties
Of the world should unite
And go to Argentina or Sweden
To live, as both of
these countries regard
Left-handedness in a positive
Light ...
The Argentineans with the “zurds”
Who are seen as quite intelligent
And the Swedish, who call
Theirs “vansterhant”
“Vanster” means the “favourable side”
And is related to the word “friend”
In fact, both of these countries
Wonder if there might
Be something about the right-handed
That’s not quite – well, right.
Thorough, educational, and fun. I love how it ends with a pun. And I had no idea that the Argentines and Swedes took such a different look at things. Do they have a higher percentage of lefties? Or just more understanding? Enjoyed this heartily!
ReplyDeleteI believe they are just a tad more reasonable ... glad you liked it; it was fun to research and write!
ReplyDelete