Monty's Gaming and Wireless Outlook - Issue 163

“Openly seeking sexual pleasure with one or more partners other than one's primary partner during Mardi Gras.” – Sacanagem, a Brazilian Portuguese word.

Sometimes there just isn’t a word for it in English. A new book, The Meaning of Tingo by Adam Jacot de Boinod, is set to be the best-selling book of the autumn by listing all the world’s weird words that don’t have an English equivalent.

In the book, the wonderful sacanagem is replicated by other gems such as the Japanese Bakku-shan - A girl who looks as though she might be pretty when seen from behind, but isn't when seen from the front… Or the Persian Warnam NihadanK - To murder somebody, bury their body, and then grow some flowers over the grave in order to conceal it.

Yes, it’s hard to believe these are real words, almost as hard as it is to believe that UK tea company PG Tips and Orange have brewed up (sorry, couldn’t resist it) the ReadyWhenUR kettle that can be switched on remotely by text message. Personally, I’d rather have a text message turned on by a kettle, but things have never been the same since that funny cup of tea I drank in India back in 1987.

While it’s unlikely anybody will strain (sorry) themselves to splash out £100 on such a device, the PR value, as usual, outweighs the product. The kettle is a promotion for the new Wallace & Gromit film and while the device doesn’t put the tea bag in nor pour the water in, it certainly keeps the attention of the public.

As if the public need to be reminded. The film is No 1 in the US box office and will go straight to the top of the UK charts when it is released later today. While two bits of clay talking don’t light everybody’s fire, it certainly beats watching Willy bloody Wonka or whatever superhero comic strip that has been reskinned for film.

Finally this week, the news that I have just turned on my non-SMS kettle manually and I await Ghiqq - the Persian word for the sound made by a boiling kettle.