In Tucson there is a road named “Ajo Way” which, along with the town named “Ajo,” is one of the shibboleths of Arizona life: newcomers pronounce it ah-joe, whereas natives and long-timers pronounce it ah-kho, where the jay is pronounced like the cee aitch in the Scottish pronunciation of Loch Ness. But even native Arizonans often don't know that ajo is Spanish for garlic.

The Russian word for garlic is чеснок. If you go to a big vegetable market in Russia, you are likely to find pickled garlic маринованный чеснок, as well as pickled onions, beets, cucumbers, mushrooms and cabbage. The first Russian family I met had a seven-year old daughter Марьяна who I once watched eat clove after clove of pickled garlic as if they were M&Ms. No accounting for taste, eh?