In Finnish we have “kissanristiäiset” (literally means a cat’s christening), which means some trivial and meaningless celebration/event.
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My favourite Aussie idiom is “We’re not here to fuck spiders.” Meaning that we are trying to do some work, stop fucking around.
I love this, absolutely using at work! Thanks!
In Canadian “fucking the dog” means slacking off, especially at work. This is not the same as “Screw the pooch” which means to fuck something up big time.
wait, your not? well
Some in Swedish but I’ll write down the literal translations first. Some I can’t even begin to explain… kind of just have to be Swedish to get them
To cook soup on a nail. (Something impossible and ridiculous, can be used both seriously and ironically)
Clean as a watch (a smart solution, or good response to a problem can be, “clean as a watch”. The expression is never used to actually describe something that’s literally clean)
A bear favor (doing someone a favor that will do more harm than good, i.e. doing someone’s homework for them)
In the time of the Duke. (When something was just in time)
Ice in the stomach (to keep your cool and be patient)
Fire for the crows (Being wasteful with fuel, you’re basically just keeping your roof warm and cozy on the outside for the birds)
Acting like a larvae (being ridiculous and/or childish, not taking something seriously when you should)
And if you got this far down, I’ve got Spanish speaking extended family who sometimes call me what I’ve been told, literally means “lightbulb thief” (cause I’m tall I guess) but I forgot the Spanish word. Maybe someome can help me out with that.
We have “to cook soup on a nail” in Norwegian as well but our meaning is different. In Norway it means to make something out of nearly nothing.
It has the same meaning here. I guess it depends on how you say it. And maybe my explanation wasn’t the best either. But by making something out of nothing. You’ve done what could be considered impossible.
I think most of our idioms are interchangeable due to how close our cultures are. How do you say it in Norwegian? Spisa soppa på spik?
Koke suppe på en spiker
Czech has a lot of them!
Dělá z komára velblouda.
He’s making a camel out of a mosquito.
= He’s making it seem like a bigger problem than it is.Nemaluj čerta na zeď.
Don’t draw an imp on the wall.
= Don’t be pessimistic. Don’t assume the most catastrophic scenario.Jsem tam pečený vařený.
I’m there baked cooked.
= I go there a lot.Dala mi košem.
She hit me with a basket.
= She dumped me, or rejected my (mostly romantic) offer or advances.Dělá jako by se nechumelilo.
He’s pretending like it’s not heavily snowing.
= He’s pretending like something doesn’t concern him. He’s nonchalant about a serious situation.Kápni božskou!
Drip the divine! (Subject implied. Probably “the divine truth”)
= Tell the truth. Spill it.Láme to přes koleno.
He’s breaking it over his knee.
= He’s forcing it.Natáhnout bačkory / brka, zaklepat bačkorama
To stretch (one’s) slippers / quills, to tap with (one’s) slippers
= To die. To kick the bucket.Padli jsme si do oka.
We fell into each other’s eye.
= We hit it off.Rozumí tomu jako koza petrželi.
He understands it like a goat understands parsley.
= He doesn’t understand it.Přišel jsem s křížkem po funuse.
I came with a little cross after the funeral.
= I came too late.Házím perly sviním.
I’m throwing pearls to swines.
= I’m doing good work or acts of kindness that go underappreciated.And I could go on :)
I could hear someone with a very (US) Georgian accent saying “He understands that like a goat understands parsley”.
“I don’t know where it comes from, but it’s tasty.” – the goat
Like pearls to swine is a very seldom used idiom in English too, used very rarely and often in archaic/medievel/fantasy settings. Very interesting 2 languages have a shared idiom so neatly translated.
It’s from the Bible.
“Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.” – Matthew 7:6
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“Drip the divine”
I love that Czech has a phrase for “spill the tea” but way cooler
In Dutch we have one similar to dělá z komára velblouda, we say “van een mug een olifant maken” (making a mosquito out for an elephant), it means the same!
Also one similar to přišel jsem s křížkem po funuse; “mosterd na de maaltijd” (mustard after the meal) means something mentioned or brought too late, when it was no longer necessary.
I wonder how many languages have sayings like this.
In English, we have “making a mountain out of a molehill”.
Ah, I’ve never even heard of that one in English!
That’s interesting!
Lithuanian here.
"Neperšokęs griovio, nesakyk ‘op’“ (Don’t say ‘op’ before you jump over the ditch) Don’t brag about doing something before you did it.
“Bala nematė” (The swamp didn’t see) When you are facing a dilemma and decide to just do something.
“Man šakės” (It’s the pitchfork for me) Basically means “I’m fucked"
“Pagauti kampą” (To catch the corner) To understand something.
“Stogas važiuoja” (The roof is going away) Used to refer to someone who’s going crazy.
“Pilstyti iš tuščio į kiaurą” (To pour from an empty one into a leaky one) to speak in meaningless statements.
“Pjauti grybą” (To cut the mushroom) to talk nonsense, or do meaningless tasks.
“Nevynioti žodžių į vatą” (Not to roll words into cotton wool) to speak directly and honestly.
“Palikti ant ledo” (To leave someone on ice) To ghost or abandon someone.
“Aiškintis santykius” (To clarify relations) To have a fight.
“Rodyti ožius" (To show the goats) To act stubborn.
Damn. You go me first. I will complement:
“Lįsti į akis” (to get into eyes): To annoy other person.
“Arabus pūsti” (to blow Arabs): To tell fairy tales (to lie).
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There’s a bunch of weird ones in Portuguese.
- “Caroço de manga não é sabonete” Do you think that mango seed is soap? = “this is an absurd proposal/situation/etc.”
- “Pobre só sobe na vida quando o barraco explode” Poor people only ascend on life when the [shit]shack explodes. = “don’t expect social ascension”
- “Enquanto vem com o milho, já comi a polenta.” While you’re bringing the corn, I already ate the polenta. = “I’ve already handled this, you’re too late.”
- “um polaco de cada colônia” a Pole from each settlement = a bunch of randomly picked people or items. I don’t think that people use this too much outside Paraná.
- “farinha do mesmo saco” flour from the same bag = extremely similar in some aspects that matter (and usually negative ones)
- “comer o pão que o diabo amassou” to eat the bread kneaded by the devil = to go through rough times
- “Vai chupar prego até virar tachinha!” Go suck an [iron] nail until it becomes a thumbtack! = somewhat polite way to tell someone to fuck off
- “Vai ver se estou na esquina.” *Go check if I’m around the corner." = also a way to tell people to fuck off
- “anta quadrada” squared tapir = “anta” tapir is used to call someone stupid, so anta quadrada is stupid to the power of two.
- “anta cúbica” cubed tapir = because some people do some really, really stupid shit.
- “mais louco que o Requião de pedalinho” crazier than Requião on a paddle boat = Requião is a politician here in Paraná known for his crazy antics. The phrase highlights that something is completely fucking crazy. Clearly local.
- “teu cu” your arse[hole] = definitively, clearly, and blatantly “no”.
Alternative for “vai ver se estou na esquina” is “vai catar coquinho” (go gather little coconuts), I guess because it’s a silly, futile task?
I always said it as while you’re bringing the wheat I already ate the bread. But in my family we exaggerated it for effect: while you’re buying the wheat seed, I already shat the bread 😂
while you’re buying the wheat seed, I already shat the bread
Like, “enquanto você tá comprando o trigo, já caguei o pão”? That’s hilarious!
Isso, e era competição entre meus irmãos pra exagerar ao máximo : tipo, enquanto você estava a caminho da loja pra comprar o trigo, eu já comi o pão, caguei, fiz composto com a merda e plantei mais trigo, etc, etc
Haven’t seen some of these before. Ones I particularly like are:
- Tirar o cavalo da chuva: take your horse away from the rain = give up on something
- Lavar as mãos: wash (the) hands = do not involve yourself in something
Wash your hands of [something] is also in American English, although I think more typically used when you were already involved in something then removed yourself from the situation
Another Bible reference; this one refers to Roman governor Pontius Pilate washing his hands to indicate being done with the issue of Jesus’s execution.
Oh right, I hadn’t thought about it!
“While you’re bringing corn, I already ate the polenta” is brutal
In Germany, we have:
“To not have all mugs in the cupboard anymore” (“Nicht mehr alle Tassen im Schrank haben”) which translates to doing something incredibly stupid/crazy
“To search yourself a wolf” ("sich einen Wolf suchen) which means to search for something extensively and in the end unsuccesfully.
“To add one additional tooth” (“einen Zahn zulegen”), meaning to hurry, to do something faster.
“To defeat your inner pigdog” (“seinen inneren Schweinehund besiegen” - to get over one’s lazyness, to stop procrastinating
“To add one additional tooth” (“einen Zahn zulegen”), meaning to hurry, to do something faster.
Related to the teeth of gears, I assume?
Originally yes but I doubt many people know that it came from (boat?) gears…
Anybody here ever think about the etymology of the word “ok”?
Supposedly it started as an abbreviation of “oll korrect” and became popular in the 1840’s during a fad of abbreviating words a lot like we have “lol” or “omg” today. Then the abbreviation took on its own meaning and became one of the most widely used words to be borrowed by other languages, with a near universal meaning.
Now it even has its own word based on the pronunciation of the abbreviation, “okay”.
The equivalent of that would be if the word “lol” became synonymous with laughter over the next 150 years to the point where the words “laugh out loud” look alien and outdated.
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I don’t know why you’re getting down voted. I’m pretty sure I read an article that had both etymologies, with the consensus that no one really knows the truth.
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One of my favorite examples in (American) English has to be “There’s more than one way to skin a cat”; meaning there are multiple viable strategies for the task or problem at hand.
I never really appreciated how morbid it is until I saw the shocked face of a fluent but non-native english speaking colleague after using it in a meeting.
Similar to the German “All paths lead to Rome”.
I almost got punched in a bar once for saying that a non-native English speaker was grinning like an idiot. Didn’t occur to me he wouldn’t understand the subtext on that one.
(For y’all ESL folks, it’s meant to be an endearing phrase indicating a joy so strong that you can’t stop yourself from smiling.)
“Konstit on monet, sano mummo kun kissalla pöytää pyyhki.”
It’s basically the same idea, and it even involves a cat. However, in this case, a grandmother is wiping the table with a cat, and says “konstit on monet”. Crudely translated as “ways (of getting stuff done) are numerous.“
Realistically though, I’m pretty sure the cat would not appreciate this method. Come to think of it, you probably wouldn’t want to do this with any animal, least of all with one that is famous for having “murder mittens”.
When I was sticking my oar in too much on something he was doing, my Dad used to say “who’s skinning this cat, you or me?”
“
public static void main string args”, which translates to “i am going to start speaking now”I’ve been learning Scots gaidhlig which has some really great ones:
As happy as a mouse in a loaf (really happy)
As happy as a shoe (not happy at all)
As fat as a seal (very fat)
As full as an egg (couldn’t be fuller)
As wet as a cormorant (soaked)
As bald as a shinty ball (hairless)
There are many others.
In the Sesotho language of Lesotho, if you say to someone, “I’m not your mother”, it’s a terrible insult.
Another insult of equal vehemence is, “you are like a cat that jumps across a ravine and scribbles up the other side”.
People in the village I lived in told me that either of these could result in someone being killed.
Please tell us what these insults mean, and why they are so dire!
Unfortunately, I have no idea what the origin of these phrases is, or why people there take offense at them.
My wild guess is that “I’m not your mother” could be an explicit denial of sympathy, carrying the implication of “you’re being a whiny bitch”.
Not sure if it’s a popular idiom or something my mom made up, but she would always say, “mas fácil cuadrar 100 micos para un foto”.
It literally translates to “easier to gather 100 monkeys for a photo”, and she used it whenever something was particularly difficult.
Danish is full of idioms. Some people can have entire conversations using only idioms.
Some of the peculiar ones with animals:
“There’s no cow on the ice” = it’s not urgent.
"The goat has been shaved " = the job is complete.
"A dog in a game of bowling " = someone that doesn’t fit in.
“The dog is buried there” = the problem is found there.
“yeah nah” - “that is a bad idea/I don’t want to do that”
As in “hey mate, want to skive off and grab a quick one while the boss is away?” “Yeah nah, got too much stuff to do aye”.
Contrast with the less common formation “yeah nah, yeah” - “that is a bad idea but I want to do it anyway”
