www.alphadictionary.com

I just read an article about how a French magazine edited out some of Sarkozy's "poignees d'amour." This made me wonder how this concept is rendered in other languages. I thought it might make for interesting reading. As long as someone out there has something to add, that is.

These are the only two I know at the moment, and the French is only because I read the BBC article.

Now, we don't want translations here; we want to know how other cultures refer to those bits of flab. As an added bonus, do love handles refer to a specific gender, or can both have them?

I look forward to learning from you.

Slava

In Israel the term is "spare tire".

I like dunlaps, they dun lapped over your belt.

mark has-to-get-rid-of-the-spare Bailey

Also known as Dunlops Disease, where your belly done lops over your belt.

Which reminds me of the sign I saw in a gift shop in Williamsburg:

It's not a beer belly; it's a fuel tank for a sex machine.

... although I'm sure there are those who would beg to differ ...

Among some pilots, I've heard 'em referred to as "air brakes".

Isn't that what the Ladies put on when they see that dunlap?

mark My-dunlap-is-nearly-gone Bailey

Dear Slava,

I've asked around and there does not seem to be an equivalent expression in Japanese. The only tentative suggestion was "seishibo" from "sei," back and "shibo," fat.

Cheers,

Agoraphile says a beer gut in Canada is called a "Molson goiter."

I have such an investment built up in mine that I hate to see it disappear all at once ...