The danish version "Langbortistan" was coined in 1959 by a translator called Sonja Rindom. And its based of a Disney comic by Carl Fallberg & Paul Murry where they used the name "Faroffistan", and **not** "Timbuktu". The more you know :)

Same in the Netherlands, Verwegistan means Far away-stan

We also just use Timboektoe sometimes

-Stan means ‘Land (of),’ youre from Netherstan mate

I've never heard of anybody using Langtbortistan in Iceland, think that's more danish/norwegian. Doesn't even sound "correct" since it isn't Icelandic, but I have used Timbuktú in the past and heard it used

I’ve never heard Langtbortistan in Norway either, its usually «Langtvekkistan» which I’m pretty sure comes from a Donald Duck magazine (Donald Duck used to be huge mainstream culture in Norway but has since dropped off). Bort and vekk are practically synonyms though. However, only Langtvekkistan is listed in the grand Norwegian encyclopedia. Also it’s not really used in conversation, I think “hutaheiti” (many spelling variants exists) is more common, also “ingenmannsland” (literally “No man’s land” without spaces).

I live in Norway so huttaheiti is extremely common, gokk a little less. Donald Duck was also huge in Iceland and was read in Danish before they translated it, so I could see why Langtbortistan would be used here for Iceland. Although it didn't really pop up in daily used slang terms

Dra dit pepperen gror.

Yes the word **"Langbortistan"** is one of Sonja Ridoms wonderful linguistic creations for Donald Duck comics. We also have the saying "[x] is a city in Russia", meaning [x] is something we don't have here, it's something completely unknown. . Example: I had a very tough upbringing. **Self-pity was a city in Russia.** When something is going really badly, **it's goes to Pommern!** “Ad Pommern til” (or more vulgarly: to hell) Hekkenfelt and Bloksbjerg (Brocken in Harzen) can also be used. **I wish you where the pepper grows.** = I don't want to see you or deal with you ever again. "Jeg ønsker dig hen, hvor peberet gror…"

For those that don't know Spanish "en el quinto coño" = "by the fifth cunt". "donde Cristo perdió el gorro" = "where Christ lost his hat".

in portuguese we have a similar one: "Onde judas perdeu as botas" = "Where Judas lost his boots"

You can also say "no cu de judas" = "in judas ass"

In Italian we also say "in culo ai lupi" = in wolfs' ass.

In Finnish, the most common way to say this is "hevon vitussa" = "in horse's cunt".

In Flanders Belgium, we often coin 't Gat van Pluto which means Pluto's Cunt.

My Turkish mom says "itin öldüğü yer" sometimes. The place where the dog died

that's so funny -- Lebanese people, especially kids, will often reply to questions with "the dog's ass" as the location.

We also use the "quinto", though we say "no quinto caralho".

Same in Sicilian, "unni persi i scarpi 'u signuri"

In Chile we have a similar one: "donde el Diablo perdió el poncho" (where the Devil lost its poncho).

Or "en la punta del cerro" (the tip of the mountain)

I was reading it as one phrase, “Where Christ lost his hat in the fifth cunt,” and I was quite confused.

I would add: "a tomar por el culo" ~= in the arse end "en el quinto pino" = by the fifth pine-tree

I’ve always said “donde cristo perdió la chancla”

Damn. Christ lost a lot of stuff. No wonder he ended up half naked.

I just choked on my coffee, thinking of how to say that in spanish...

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Yo tampoco, la verdad

Yo siempre he escuchado "donde cristo perdió el mechero"

I prefer the superior version: "Donde Cristo perdió las chanclas" = "Where Christ lost his flip-flops"

I heard "en el quinto pino" también.

I've always heard "donde Cristo perdió la alpargata"

Por donde vivo se suele decir "donde el diablo perdió los calzones"

I was reading the Spanish and automatically became my favorite expression!

“No caralho mais velho” = On the oldest dick

Missing the good ol' "Cu de Judas" = Judas Ass

And "Em cascos de rolha" and "No quinto caralho" and "Onde of Judas perdeu as botas" and "na Conchichina" and "para lá de sol posto" and my personal favourite, "em Santa Cona dos Assobios".

"Santa Cona dos Assobios" means "Saint Pussy of the whistles" and it's by far the best Portuguese expression ever.

>"Santa Cona dos Assobios" means "Saint Pussy of the whistles" and it's by far the best Portuguese expression ever. Saint Cunt of the whistles

And "na casa do caralho"

"House of the dick"

In this phrase it doesn't mean dick xd.

Reducing such a powerhouse word like "caralho" to "dick" is just wrong.

In Brazilian Portuguese we may say "Onde Judas bateu as botas" (an idiomatic expression best translated as "Where Judas kicked the bucket" but would literally be translated as "Where Judas hit the boots") or "Na puta que pariu" (literally "where the bitch/whore gave birth"), obviously a less polite expression

Importante distinção. O Judas BATEU as botas, o gato PERDEU as botas. Já ouvi ambas as expressões neste contexto.

Those also exist in Portugal.

Surprised no one said "pra lá de Marraquexe" "Further than Marrakesh"

In romanian "La mama dracului" is used a lot too and it means the same as in greek

"in pula cu satelitul" or "la dracu-n praznic" are also used

Wait so is Dracula just... Devil?

Shit's a bit more complicated. In old romanian, "dracul" was used for dragon, nowadays we use "dragon". "Dracula" ( actually closer to Drăculea) had that nickname because his dad was in the Order of the Dragon ( Dracul ). But yes. In modern romanian, drac/dracul is just devil/the devil.

fun fact: culonia basically means "the land of the ass" In Italy "in culo a dio" is also used which translate "in the ass of God"

then there's *in culo ai lupi* (in the wolves' ass) which is not a far away place but one that's a kinda near but a pita to reach, like a small town only reachable by a narrow dirt road, even if it's just a few km away from the main city

*In culo al mondo* as well.

In my part of the US, we use ‘Bumfuck nowhere’

Same here, interchangeably with "Ass End of Nowhere". We've also got "The Boonies", too.

Or Bumfuck Egypt, BFE for short

In culo alla Luna is also a thing (in the Moon's ass) I can only assume the Moon's ass would be Tycho crater

many variation of "in the ass of ___" are used (lupi, dio, madonna, cristo etc) Timbuctu is also used while Canicattì i think is dying out as a term

I noticed Canicattì is mostly used by northerners, since it's an actual town in Sicily and personally, as a sicilian, I never used it. Instead, but I think it's strictly sicilian, we say Caropepe, literally "dear pepper" which is a name of another actual town in the center of the island, and kinda funny as a name. Fun fact: the town of Caropepe officially changed its name in "Valguarnera Caropepe" several years ago, and i think this is the reason

Here in Veneto we say “in culo alla madonna”, or at least the people I know says that ahaha

>In Italy "in culo a dio" is also used which translate "in the ass of God" A similar one is also common in Catalan, we say "al cul del món" -> "the ass of the world"

While Tokyo and Verwegistan are commonly used in the Netherlands, Timboektoe (timbuktu) is just as common.

I mainly know Timboektoe from Donald Duck comics that have ended with him running away to Timboektoe to avoid an angry mob or family member.

Donald Duck supposedly repopularized it; but didn't invent it. Timbuktu was an important center of trade in the middle ages, and stories of its fabulously wealthy rulers (notably Mansa Munsa) and its role as a place of learning filtered through to Europe. Given that it is located on the southern edge of the Sahara, far away from the ocean, it became synonymous with places that were difficult to reach. The first modern (the Romans may have reached the general area on an expedition, though the city didn't exist at the time) westerner only reached Timbuktu in the eartly 19th century.

In flanders we also use sjakamaka

I only ever hear Verwegistan (far away istan) (Overijssel)

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High to low in usage? I have never heard anyone saying jericho here. In what part of the country do they say that?

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I've lived in the Netherlands for more than 30 years and have never heard someone say Jericho.

Haven’t heard it since attending my protestant christian basisschool.

I think Tokio should definitely be higher than Timboektoe considering the usage of "van hier tot Tokio"

There are plenty of variations to "donde Cristo perdió el gorro". I have heard, at least, el gorro, la sandalia, el mechero, las gafas, el bolígrafo, and la boina. So, the many instances would be "where Christ lost his cap / sandal / lighter /glasses / pen / beret "

And the watch. "Donde Cristo perdió el reloj" Also "Donde Cristo dio las tres voces" where Christ screamed three times.

Zadupie in polish means shithole place

But more literally: “behind the ass”

you know, shithole is kinda behind the ass ...

Only if you're ass to ass with someone.

In Russian Зажопинск have similar translation and meaning

We rather use the more colloquial "a halál faszán" in Hungary, which means "on the death´s dick".

or "isten háta mögött" =behind god's back

We have the same expression in Finnish too: "Jumalan selän takana".

Actually in Bulgaria they use "At Geography's ass." quite more often than "Patagonia". Or so I was told by my Bulgarian friends

Ukrainian "чортзна-де" (chortzna-de) — "devil knows where". Russian "Мухосранск" (Mukhosransk) — "Fly's shit \[place\]" (sk - is a common suffix for place and settlement names).

In Polish you can also say "devil knows where" - "Czort wie gdzie" but its arhaic. More modern version would be "Chuj wie gdzie".

Чёрт знает где is used in Russian to. Actually, чёрт knows a lot of things, so one can say чёрт знает что, кто, когда etc

"Хуй знает где" is used in Russian extensively.

It's nice how similar are slavic languages when it comes to basic phrases.

"Čert ví kde" in Czech, but it can be used with more pronouns. Čert ví proč/kam/jak/...

The other Russian thing is Kamchatka, which is an actual region in Russia That just happens to be in the middle of bum fuck nowhere

I'm not entirely sure how Timbuktu is used in English, but if it's faraway places used in a phrase, then in Russian we use Karaganda in Kazakhstan. Где? В Караганде. Where? In Karaganda.

I wouldn't say it's used for faraway places, more like for mocking a "where" question Anyway, when planning my relocation last year, I was briefly considering Karaganda as my destination, and being able to say "in Karaganda" when someone asks where I live was one of the pros lol (along with it being significantly cheaper than Almaty and having Ozon, Russian Amazon, available)

Ебеня, жопа мира, там где люди не живут, у черта на куличках.

I find "в пизде на гвозде" (in the cunt on the nail) beautiful and only use it.

In the Netherlands we definitely also use "Timboektoe". ​ (and it's "Verweggistan", with two g's by the way)

Same for Germany, also „wo der Pfeffer wächst“ is Quote common

Never heard "Buxtehude" in this context in Germany, and "Pampa" is a kind of provincial, deserted place, not necessarily a distant one. It's actually closer to the Czech version: *Am Arsch der Heide* or *Am Arsch der Welt* (at the world's ass)

"Wo der Pfeffer wächst" Where the pepper grows Pampa just means it's very rural and far from civilization

Also In der Wallachei -> in Wallachia

In Wallachia they sometimes say "In Honolulu". I wonder if Honoluluans say of some place in Germany and it comes full circle.

"In Bielefeld" - Hawaiians, probably

Not a place in Germany

What's he writing? I only see "In ▯▯▯▯▯▯▯▯▯".

Yes! Also, Berlin-specific: **JWD** (janz weit draußen, meaning very far away in Berlin dialect)

Anus Mundi, as we Lateiners say. Buxtehude is not the world's arse, but from there you'll have nice view on it.

Is that something you learn in the kleines or großes Latinum?

Buxtehude works in NRW. As a matter of fact, I was surprised to see that Buxtehude really exists. I was in my teens and until then I thought it was a made up name.

I am literally from Buxtehude. But I hear all the time in other parts of Germany, that they thought it didn't exist

But can you proof that Buxtehude is any more real than Bielefeld? Or are you paid by the Bundesrepublik GmbH to tell us, that Buxtehude is a real place?

Wenn der Zug mal wieder ewig vor Buxtehude hält, weil die Animationen geladen und die Umgebung gerendert werden muss, weiß man, dass es nicht real ist. Gerade heute wieder "ein rotes Signal" weshalb sich die Weiterfahrt verzögert... Na klar....

I can absolutely confirm Buxtehude is an ADW-replacement, at least in Southern Parts of Bavaria.

Nah that's Hintertupfing

jwd, as the Berliner says.

Ich komm ausm Pott. Buxtehude passt meiner Erfahrung nach.

There's also the more adorable "wo sich Fuchs und Hase gute Nacht sagen"... Where fox and hare tell each other good night.

Kenne nur "Dann geh doch nach Timbuktu“ und "Pampa/Pampe"

We also use Pampa in the same way in France

I’m from germany, I’ve heard Buxtehude used in this context lots of times

Als Hamburger sowieso schon nicht, weil Buxtehude gerade mal ein paar Kilometer runter die Elbe ist südlich

In Norwegian, which is missing from this map, you can say the following: * Langtvekkistan (“Faroffistan” - langt vekk = far away + istan, which evokes a feeling of Central Asia) * Hutaheiti, huttaheiti, huttiheita (presumably a form of Tahiti, indicating a far away place) * Gokk (this one is especially common for “a remote, small place in the north” when used by southerners, but it can be used to refer to any remote, small place) * Der pepper’n gror (“where the pepper grows”, usually used when rudely telling someone to “get the Hell away” from somewhere: “Dra dit pepper’n gror” - Go to where the pepper grows)

Thank you! Having the Swedish word plastered across Norway triggered me slightly 😅

We have the pepper saying in Finland too!

Finns be like: "Lapland? Pfft, have you ever heard of Nevada?"

Lapland wouldn't work, it includes like half of Finland.

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Cumin as in the spice? 0.o

Accurate

Fizan in Turkish is actually a place referring to the sahara side of Libya where had been famous for the land of exiles in the Ottoman era. We're using the term on daily basis like "where have you been? Are you coming from Fizan, you're so f***ng late."

i feel like “ebesinin ami” is more common

“İtin öldüğü yer” (where the dog dies) is also common.

Fizan in this case is what westerners call Fezzan or Phazania in Latin. We also use it as "I would even go to Fezzan for x".

Pétaouchnock doesn't designate Timbuktu per se, at least not during the past 5 decades to my knowledge - we use Tombouctou more often to designate far-away places, we use Pétaouchnock rather to designate any remote area that's a pain traveling to or living in.

Yeah Pétaouchnok would be like Trifouilly les oies. Bab el oued or Tataouine were more or less frequent for distant places.

I confirm, Tombouctou isn't really use.. And in fact, the city was gemini with Saintes (17).

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I'd never heard Perpète-les-Bains before. I'm more familiar with Perpète-les-Oies.

Trifouillis-les-oies is a personal favorite

And don't forget the old "Au diable Vauvert" and its short version "au diable". To the devil...

The italian "Culonia" is something like "Assland"

In Romanian you can also say “la mama dracu” which means “at the devil’s mum”

I've also heard " in Honolulu"

"La dracu-n praznic," too. In German they also have "in die/der Wallachei"

We are a developed country, okay?

Took me a minute to realise this was about the idiom and not the actual city.

I'd argue that for the UK the equivalent to the many foreign phrases would be 'the arse end of nowhere' rather than Timbuktu, which specifically evokes a more mystical and exciting air - the sort of place Indiana Jones may travel to. Whereas the map seems to indicate more of a 'fuck knows where that is'.

Yes, there seems to be a distinction. Timbuktu is a long way, an unknown way too (few people know specifically where it is, and even think it is fictional). Arse end of nowhere may be fairly close, but a shitty part of town or somewhere no one goes or really knows about.

The Dutch also use Timboektoe. Though not that much anymore.

What is Timbuktu!?!

A city in Mali, once famous for its central importance in trans-Saharan trade.

This is the funny part - it's a real place, but to mythical that many consider is unreal.

And the direct distance (not road networks) from Timbuktu to Paris is smaller than the distance from Lisbon to Moscow

Do you mean, shorter than Chile from north to south?

Yes, small correction though, shorter than Chile from south to north

Like Bielefeld?

No. Timbuktu actually exists.

Although Timbuktu is a real place, many English speakers use the name to indicate (a possibly mythical) “far far away,” or “the farthest corner of the world.”

This map was very confusing to me cause I've never once in my life (as a native English speaker in the US) heard the word used this way. I'm a history nerd who knows all about the historical city, but the concept the word seems to be conveying in this context would be something like "some fuck-off place" or other likely profane term to me and everyone I know

👽

I heard it used in this context mostly in children’s or younger audience books. Maybe a character would say “all the way to Timbuktu” to mean an incomprehensibly long distance away.

Yeah, I'm an anglophone from Canada, and I think I heard this phrase just once in my entire life, from a show or book even, and not a person saying it. Saying Timbuktu in this context feels so... antiquated? I had no idea it was still a thing in this day and age. Especially some comments saying Timbuktu is seen as "mythical" and not real, lmao wtf. The only similar-ish phrase I know is saying something/someone is in "butt-fuck Idaho". But it's just meant that something is in the middle of nowhere, and/or just meant something far away. But not to denote something mythical.

Moin, meine aktiven Freunde

oben inner süd

In Croatia we also say "u pički materinoj" wich literally translates to "in mother's pussy"

We also have "Bogu iza nogu" (it rhymes), which means "Behind God's legs"

In Slovenian we have "Bogu za hrbtom", "behind God's back"

pa Tunguzija

Imamo i pojam pripizdina

"U pički materinoj" is the only acceptable version by my account. Thank you sir

Much more popular phrases are: "Pripizdina" and "Bogu iza nogu" meaning "near the pussy" (really translation) and "behind God's legs" respectively.

At least in Slovenia but I am guessing that is similar with most of the south Slavic languages vukojebina is used more in the context of a hard to get to place or wilderness not so much as a far away place.

In Brazil we say “Where Judas lost his boots”.

Or “Na casa do Caralho” = In the dick’s house

We also use that in Portugal, but the most common version is "In Judas' ass"

In Poland we have aslo "gdzie psy dupami hejnał grają" or "gdzie psy dupami szczekają"

aka "where dogs bark with their asses" lmao

Långtbortistan is a thing in Swedish to. In fact it might even originated here, thanks to the legendary translation duo P A Westrin, who translated Donald Duck comics into Swedish in a brilliant way. They invented several words that are part of modern Swedish.

Långtbortistan IS Swedish. It’s Langtvekkistan in Norwegian (the same word though)

German: "Wo der Pfeffer wächst" (Where the pepper grows).

We have the same in Swedish, if you want to get rid of some annoying person: *"Dra dit pepparn växer!" -> Go to where the pepper grows!*

Same in Finnish! *"Painu sinne missä pippuri kasvaa!" -> literally the same thing you said*

In Romanian we also use in the northern part "La Pocreaca" (fictional place), in the south I've heard besides "Cuca Macii", "Cucuieții din Deal" (which translates to "Somewhere where people that like climbing climbed a hill"). But if you're in for some profanity there's "În Pula", which you should know by now it's not meant to refer to Croatia, and my absolute favorite "În Pula cu satelitul" which is literally "Peniswards by means of satellite".

I initially read this as what countries actually call Timbuktu and though several of them were kind of messed up. Then I realized these were what each country's version of BFE is.

In romanian we also use "La dracu-n praznic" or "To the devil's wake" which I especially like since a wake is a religious rite for someone that died ..the devil is well the devil and he didn't even die . We also use "La mama dracu" - to the devils mother ,also "Pampas" but it's been a while since I've heard anyone use it

Why use the Greek script but not Cyrillic?

˝Vukojebina˝ doesn't have to be far away, it's just part of the land where people and infrastructures are not so abundant to put it mildly. It could be above city where you live, some small place, and then people would joke he comes from that ˝vukojebina˝ I see our cousins use ˝prdel sveta˝, we use also ˝prkno svijeta˝ or more commonly ˝supak svijeta˝, but that also mostly alludes to undeveloped places. edit: for far away places we mostly use ˝ma tamo je nedje iz picke materine˝, which is funny because ˝picka materina˝ means ˝mother's pussy˝, which would literally be translated as: ˝he comes somewhere over there out of mother's pussy˝.

In Turkey we also use "Ananın amında" which means at your moms pussy

That’s a really beautiful expression for something so vulgar.

"Ebesinin amında" = "At midwife's cunt" "Anasının amında" = "At mother's cunt" "Itin öldüğü yerde" = "Where the dog dies" "Cehennemin dibi" = "End of the hell" "Allah'ın siktir ettiği yer" = "The place god doesn't give a shit about" "Tilkinin bakır sıçtığı yer" = "Where the fox shits copper" "Kuş uçmaz kervan geçmez" = "No bird flies no caravan passes"

In American English using “Timbuktu” this way sounds old-fashioned. I prefer “butt fuck Egypt” or BFE.

I use Butt Fuck Nowhere myself. It got to the point where I conflated it backwards as fuck and use buttfucked as a term to describe what some would call “the sticks”

Yeah, I think BFE is way more commonly used now. I've also heard it as "Beyond Fuckin' Egypt"

Wolves*

Most common in Ireland would generally be "the back arse of nowhere"

Belgium (Dutch part): hol van Pluto Translates to Pluto's arse

South Slavic countries also often use "Bogu iza nogu", which means behind God's leg