Uncle Garabed’s Notebook (June 4, 2011)

A Clever Twist
The reason why so few good books are written is that so few people who can write know anything.
…Walter Bagehot

Daffy-nition
Vision: Looking farther than you can see.

Forgotten Folklore
When a Dikranagerdtsi Armenian sneezes, another one, who may be present, says: “Kher eghna” (May it be beneficial). But that’s not the end of it. What ensues is a series of alliterations: “Makinirti ker eghna” (May your sheep be fat). “Nishanadzit der eghna” (May your betrothed be
lordly). “Asdvadz Dadan bahaban eghna” (May Grandfather God be guardian).

Uh, Oh
A certain U.S. Senator returned from a junket to Hong Kong with a souvenir medallion for his wife. She wore it proudly until a Chinese diplomat informed her that the literal translation of the characters on the medallion read: “Licensed prostitute, City of Shanghai.”

Personal Comment
Edo: Is it wrong to bet on the horses?
Bedo: Yes, the way I do it is.

From My Persian Dictionary
Gáv: cow
Kaimák: cream (clotted)
Sakat: cripple
Ghalabah: crowd

What’s in a Name?
Timourian: Persian/Arabic in derivation, timur is defined as iron; in modern Turkish demir.

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CK Garabed

Weekly Columnist

C.K. Garabed (a.k.a. Charles Kasbarian) has been active in the Armenian Church and Armenian community organizations all his life. As a writer and editor, he has been a keen observer of, and outspoken commentator on, political and social matters affecting Armenian Americans. He has been a regular contributor to the Armenian Reporter and the AGBU Literary Quarterly, “ARARAT.” For the last 30 years, Garabed has been a regular contributor to the Armenian Weekly. He produces a weekly column called “Uncle Garabed's Notebook,” in which he presents an assortment of tales, anecdotes, poems, riddles, and trivia; for the past 10 years, each column has contained a deconstruction of an Armenian surname. He believes his greatest accomplishment in life, and his contribution to the Armenian nation, has been the espousing of Aghavni, and the begetting of Antranig and Lucine.

Latest posts by CK Garabed (see all)

• A Reminiscence: John Najarian - February 19, 2020
• Uncle Garabed’s Notebook (Aug. 5, 2017) - August 7, 2017
• Uncle Garabed’s Notebook (July 22, 2017) - July 22, 2017