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Ask for help > Is there a word in English to define in an informal way a woman who is only worried about housework, gossip programmes, talking about her own problems with her children, etc.?
Is there a word in English to define in an informal way a woman who is only worried about housework, gossip programmes, talking about her own problems with her children, etc.?
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Yolandaprieto
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Is there a word in English to define in an informal way a woman who is only worried about housework, gossip programmes, talking about her own problems with her children, etc.?
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In Spanish we have the word "maruja" and we use it a lot. I wonder if there is an equivalent in English.
Thanks in advance
Yolanda |
27 Dec 2010
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yanogator
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Yolanda,
I did a little research for you, and the closest I can find is "busybody", but that only covers the gossip part of it. The Yiddish word "yenta" comes closer to "maruja", and some English-speaking people use it, but it isn �t an English word.
Bruce |
27 Dec 2010
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foose1
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My mother would call them a worry wart. I don �t know where it comes from. I just know my mother said it all the time and she comes from Kentucky out in the hicks. I never heard anyone else but her family from Kentucky say it. As Bruce stated, "a busy body" is what I normally hear or a nosey person or sometimes referred to as a trouble maker.
John |
27 Dec 2010
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almaz
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I don �t think there �s a single-word English equivalent of �maruja � - other than �housewife � - although you may be looking for something closer to �(stereo-) typical housewife �, as opposed to, say, �homemaker �.
Interestingly, a gossip of either sex is known as a sweetie-wife in Scotland. |
27 Dec 2010
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Disappointed
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There are a few words you could use such as self centered and/or egocentric to name but two.
Have a happy holiday!
Charles
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27 Dec 2010
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almaz
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No, a busybody concerns him/herself with other people �s business; Yolanda is referring to a specific type whose life and interests revolve almost exclusively around her home and family and whose take on the outside world is determined by what she sees on tawdry daytime TV programmes like �S�lvame �.(Have you seen Bel�n Esteban lately? Positively freaky, my dear....)
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27 Dec 2010
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yanogator
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Thank you for the further explanation, almaz. I �ll change my answer to "a self-absorbed person". We really don �t have a single word in English for such a person.
Bruce |
27 Dec 2010
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Disappointed
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We do have one one in English and in fact quite a few. Let me repeat again:
Egocentric (Adj)
1. Holding the view that the ego is the center, object, and norm of all experience.
2. a. Confined in attitude or interest to one �s own needs or affairs. b. Caring only about oneself; selfish.
3. Philosophy a. Viewed or perceived from one �s own mind as a center. b. Taking one �s own self as the starting point in a philosophical system. |
28 Dec 2010
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