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A big problem

Slang foreign word today: "Samoan: Fa lavee lavee." Soft "a"s, hard "ee"s. A "fa lavee lavee" is a family affair like a wedding or funeral and is used ... read more

by Carlton Roos

18 Mar 2009
Slang

flagSamoa

"White trash" Samoan

"Pa lagi" Is pronounced Pah Langi. Its original translation is roughly "sprang forth from the heavens," as the original white missionaries to Samoa came in airplanes, which the locals had ... read more

by Carlton Roos

19 Mar 2009

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Slang

A big problem

Carlton Roos

18 Mar 2009

Samoa

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Carlton Roos

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Slang foreign word today: "Samoan: Fa lavee lavee." Soft "a"s, hard "ee"s. A "fa lavee lavee" is a family affair like a wedding or funeral and is used as an always valid excuse for missing work, even for days or more. These are traditionally for natives only. Pa lagis (white folk) are not expected to have fa lavee lavees, but may, if they know the term and how to use it. Over time, the term has grown to mean any kind of big, internal problem within a family or business. Example: "They are having a bit of a fa lavee lavee over at AIG ever since Barack and others had a cow over those big bonuses."

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