Getting lost in translation could get you in trouble...

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I was answering a post about allergies when I suddenly remembered a scary situation I was in involving a certain kind of fish. In my country, I think there are as many local dialects as there are the number of islands (7100++ islands!!) So, part of the excitement of our local travels is the fact that the place has a dialect of its own. We do have a national language, but, sometimes the locals "mix" their dialect with the national language. Back to the fish. I don't know why of all foods, I'm allergic only to one kind of fish. Any other kind of fish, I can eat. In our national language it's known as "talakitok" (trevally in english). Unfortunately, I didn't know that it is a collective name of a kind of fish, and I've only seen one variety. And, worse, it looks like another kind of fish that I could and do eat. One time, I was in another place, and was at a cafeteria near the airport. I was looking at the food on display, and fancied this fried fish. Remembering my allergy, I asked whether the fried fish was "talakitok" and the guy responded, "that's *** (I don't remember the word, but, definitely it was not "talakitok"). So I ordered. When I started to eat it, I suddenly felt some pain and itchiness like something just stung my lips!!! My lips started to swell. That's when I knew that I had eaten the forbidden fish. And, poor me, the guy who served it did not know that it has another name. Good thing I was not able to swallow it. Else, my throat would have been swollen as well. Now that would have been really dangerous! So, now, even though I know that it's that particular fish I'm allergic to I steer clear of any fish I'm not familiar with when I travel. Which makes me think, has anyone else been in a dangerous, awkward or even funny situation just because some things are called differently in other places, or that what you're saying was wrongfully translated? I vaguely recall this anecdote about a man ordering 'cheese' in a foreign restaurant and the waiter was shocked because he had ordered 'poison'. Turns out that in that language, cheese and poison sound almost the same only some difference in the way it's pronounced. Care to share your own experience?