"Jimi"

Yesterday I went bowling with a Japanese friend and about 20 strangers, all members of a volleyball club. After the introductions, I immediately impressed all by rolling a strike on my first frame, and then collected 8 spares in the first game, leaving only 3 pins standing. Somewhere about the 6th or 7th frame, my technique was described as "jimi", amongst great laughter. Not understanding the word, I asked for a translation. No one seemed to know exactly in English, but one woman offered "not gorgeous", again drawing much laughter. Later, after consulting the electronic language dictionary, we discovered the true meaning to be closer to "plain/simple/steady". The second game only proved the woman's point, as I again rolled few strikes and many spares and placed a respectable, but not gorgeous, second place.

Later in the afternoon at the post-bowling BBQ, for a reason I've forgotten, I attempted to explain irony, in a mixture of Japanese and English, to about four people. Not having any success, we again checked the aforementioned dictionary, but they still didn't seem to grasp the idea, even after reading the Japanese entry. Upon relaying the story to an American friend, he made the excellent point that it would have been ironic if they HAD understood.