Translated roughly as "best-of-the-shop, " ras el hanout is the distinctive and very personal mix of spices that gives couscous its aroma and depth.

WSJ: Cold-Snap Couscous

Thanks to Singapore's first-past-the-post system, the opposition has never translated its roughly one-third of the votes into more than four seats, and at the last election, in 1997, won just two out of 83 seats.

ECONOMIST: The government is almost unopposed

La Cosa Nostra - roughly translated as "This Thing Of Ours" - has 19th Century roots but its origins are obscure.

BBC: Andreotti escapes conviction