I got hit with a new one today that made me chuckle. It appears that a certain level of Thais now refer to gasoline as "nam mun". Literally translated that would mean " potato water or potato juice".
I got hit with it as without me knowing the wife gave our garden lady 100 Baht to go buy gas for the mower if she needed it. She didn't and returned the 100 to me at the end of the day saying "su nam mun mai dai..." My reply was OOOKKKK? Then I called the wife and got a translation.
Maybe gasohol will catch on later, just like iceacream did. Pete
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Source
I don't know except that "mun" I believe is generic for any kind of root vegetable....potato, cassava etc. How it came to mean the above I'm lost. Roel will show up later on and clarify I hope.
Petrus, my name in Latin, means rock and associated and that's where us English speakers got petroleum from. At least a rock it's bit deeper than a potato! (usually) Pete
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Source
Spellings are the same, tones etc. I think it comes down to context - if something is man-xxx it is a root (vegetable); if it is a nam-man-xxx it is a fat of something. May be some historical connection - but if there is it is well lost on me.
Had enough of the trolls. Going to sleep. I may be some time....
Although common in most languages that a word can have several meanings, this is quite exceptional in Thai. Another example is pom ผม both used for I (male) and for hair. Same spelling and therefore obviously same tone.
gasoline = nam man (น้ำมัน)
potato = man farang (มันฝรั่ง)
Same man (มัน) but as far as I know completely unrelated as Korkenzieher already noted.
We are all living in 'the good old days' of the future.
In all my time I've only heard "benzin" used for gasoline. Perhaps the other pieces as DTM mentions have always been there and my ear simply didn't catch them. I guess also possible that in this new age of no choice but gasohol, benzin is being dropped for the nam mun(man) saying.
Interesting exercise we had here tonight though. Readers now know more. Petrus
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Source
Then I called the wife and got a translation.
Pete 
Pete 
Petrus 