So There Is a Word for That?

I got an e-mail from Reader's Digest this morning and I came across this section on foreign words. There were a couple of funny ones, but I thought this one was hilarious...guess 'cause it happens enough that there ought to be a word for it? (Go ahead and leave the 'nice' comments...it's still funny!)

Some people live by the credo "Why use one word to describe something when I can use 47?" But in some cultures, that's frowned upon. For example:

Foreign word: bakku-shan (Japanese)
English translation: "A girl who appears pretty from behind but not from the front"

- From The Meaning of Tingo, by Adam Jacot de Boinod (Penguin)