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Salty linguistics

In Finnish there is the word "tuima". In general it can mean something along the lines of grim, stern or severe.

But when talking about food it has two different meanings. In some regions it can mean the food is too salty. In other regions it however means the exact opposite: saltless.

The former is more widely used in western Finland and the later in eastern parts. In general the meaning of the lack of salt is more widespread. There are different roots for the usage in both parts. This has also led to endless confusion and arguments whenever these two types of people meet around some food.

There are several other words with similarly opposite or otherwise different meanings in Finnish language. But this is one of the few ones that can sometimes cause some practical confusion.

I have actually witnessed a situation where one person is making food, offering it for tasting to another person. After tasting, the other person tells the cook the food is "tuimaa", meaning there is too much salt in it. However the first person proceeds with adding more salt into the food understanding the comment suggesting the food is lacking it.

Language can sometimes lead to some really salty situations.

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