Tüng laagriks / Prank for camp
PHOTO 1: A term that might be useful whilst in
laager. This particular introduction hails from the Jõekääru
söögi/saal (dining hall) last
suvi (summer).
PHOTO 2:
Tünga näide, e.g. of a
tüng, also Jõekäärult: "We stole your water bottles! Look for (
otsi) a spruce (
kuuse/puu) with sharp needles...
Tüng is a colloquial (
kõne/keelne) expression for
alt/vedamine or having the rug pulled out from under you. If you are the prankster:
sa teed kellelegi tünga aka
alt/vedamine, you tugged the rug, so to speak. If you yourself are pranked,
sa SAAD tünga aka
alt/minemine – you went blindly under the limbo bar and fell victim.
Sind tõmmati alt you were tugged, right on your backside.
When writing LAAGRIKS, the word LAGRITS (liqorice) came to mind. Both these words come from German (
Lager and
Lakritze). Try saying "
Lagrits laagriks" 10 times fast!
Ajab keele sõlme. It ties a knot in your tongue. Another classic to try is "
pagari piparkook".
Kui sa tahad tünga laagriks, (if you want a prank for camp), you might offer a surprise with some
soome (Finnish)
salmiakki –
soolane or salty liquorice. The little, black tongue-numbing drops are speculated to have their origin at
apteegid (pharmacies) that manufactured their own cough medicine with ammonium chloride.
Ammoonium/kloriid +
lagrits = a candy
lemmik (favourite) since the 1930s in
Skandinaavia and
Holland aka
Madal/maad, ("the low countries") – what
Nederland(s) means. (
Les Pays-Bas aussi.) How low can you go? Not too low with the
tüngad, please!
Mõistuse piires – within reason or the limits of your
mõistus.
Riina Kindlam, Tallinn