Tricky Words in this week's OVI

Rector. This is a word which for a long time I felt was tricky, but it was just due to my ignorance. I was sure that a rector was the head priest in a parish (farnosť), and I was reluctant to use this word to translate "rektor" as the head of a university in Slovakia. When I finally checked "rector" in my dictionary though, I found it was perfectly good for use as the head of a university in continental Europe. The top person in most British universities is the chancellor, but this is an honorary, titular position often held by a member of the royal family or other famous person. The executive head is called the Vice-chancellor, which might not look "good enough" to some people as the translation of "Rektor". The head of most universities in the USA is called the President.

Andy's Wordshop

I've been asked about how it is with mushrooming (hubárčenie) in England, and my usual reaction is "Forget it", because so much of the land is privately owned, fenced off and inaccessible that you can't reach the mushrooms, and taking them would be stealing as well. The climate is good for mushrooms though, so if you know what to pick (vybrať) and you find some suitable public land, you'll be happy. I suspect the majority of English people think that mushrooms are squashy white things that come in a plastic box from the supermarket, and that wild mushrooms growing in the forest are at least inedible (nejedlé), if not poisonous (jedovaté). They even have a special name for them: toadstools, literally "ropuchové taburetky", and they won't touch them.