Every now and then I thumb through my five Romance language dictionaries at random, looking for odd words that tickle my fancy or appeal to my warped sense of humour. Here are some from the A pages:
FRENCH: achaler, verb transitive, to hassle, to bug. Achale-moi pas, don’t bug me!
ITALIAN: abbuffarsi, verb reflexive, to stuff oneself; abbuffata, noun feminine, a nosh-up, binge, blow-out; farsi un’abbuffata, to stuff oneself.
PORTUGUESE: abocanhar, verb transitive and intransitive, 1) to bite or bite off; 2) to snap at; 3) tear with teeth; 4) to eat, swallow, devour; 5) to seize possession of; 6) to slander, defame. Homen de má lingua que abocanha toda gente, a foul-mouthed, slanderous man.
ROMANIAN: antropofag, noun masculine, man-eater.
SPANISH: andanada, noun feminine, 1) a broadside; 2) a reprimand or rebuke; 3) a covered stand. Echar/soltar una andanada, to say something out of the blue