Slang, aiming as it does to elicit a laugh and a gasp, uses brevity, wit and invention to great effect. Terms for sheer indifference include the Russian “i v oos nye doot”; literally, to not blow into one’s moustache. And the rather picturesque French “jeter son bonnet par-dessus les moulins”; to fling one’s hat over the windmills. And the Central-American …
