The foreign idioms game

[Arduenn Schwartzman]

This might be a fun and educational little game.

Rules:

    1. The first part of your entry is a saying/idiom/proverb/expression in your native language or dialect, uncommon to standard English. (+ country/region/dialect of origin)

    2. The second part is the literal translation to standard English. If you can, translate it word for word. If you must, for the sake of legibility, make it grammatically correct.

    3. The third part provides an explanation.

For example:

    "Dat zet geen zoden aan de dijk." (Dutch)

    "That sets no sods on the dike."

    "That's a useless effort."

Let's see who can come up with the funniest, most ridiculous one.

Edited June 30, 2021 by Arduenn Schwartzman

[Arduenn Schwartzman]

"Daar lusten de honden geen brood van." (Du)

"There lust the hounds no bread of." / "If you would make bread with that, not even the dogs would eat it."

"That is unacceptable."

[Ingrid Ingersoll]

By hook or by crook, roughly translates to "by any means necessary"

[Pixie Kobichenko]

Well, best I can do is Southern Americano-

Fair to middlin= A response to “how are you doin’ today?” that old men give.

Happier than a pig in sh*t.

Crazier than an outhouse rat.

saying something is “cattywumpus”.

She looks like she was rode hard & put up wet.

Madder than a wet hen.

It’s like pulling chicken teeth. 
 

We’re off like a herd of turtles.

Bonus: Well bless ya’lls heart!

 

Edited June 30, 2021 by Pixie Kobichenko

[Rowan Amore]

Devil's Strip. (tree lawn)

The strip of land between the sidewalk and the road which you pay taxes on but the city government can do whatever they want on such as put a sign, dig a hole, plant a tree.  The 'devil' being the tax collector.

This phrase is unique to North East Ohio.  Akron in particular where it is thought to have originated.

Not sure if this fits into this thread exactly but I've always found it fascinating that no one outside my area had ever heard it.

[Rat Luv]

1 hour ago, Pixie Kobichenko said:

 

saying something is “cattywumpus”.

Bonus: Well bless ya’lls heart!

 

I like 'cattywumpus' 🙂 Can imagine it as a SL last name...

Sure I saw something on YT once about 'bless your heart', doesn't it really mean "You're an idiot"?  

[Pixie Kobichenko]

8 minutes ago, Rowan Amore said:

Devil's Strip. (tree lawn)

The strip of land between the sidewalk and the road which you pay taxes on but the city government can do whatever they want on such as put a sign, dig a hole, plant a tree.  The 'devil' being the tax collector.

This phrase is unique to North East Ohio.  Akron in particular where it is thought to have originated.

Not sure if this fits into this thread exactly but I've always found it fascinating that no one outside my area had ever heard it.

I’ve never heard of it as Devil’s strip-  but it makes complete sense.  
Imminent domain.  About 15 years ago a suburb of Oklahoma City (Midwest City) cleared out a entire neighborhood, like 2 miles1 mile to make space for a huge shopping complex.  Gave the little old ladies pennies on the dollar for homes their Air Force husbands bought them in the 50s.  https://www.oklahoman.com/article/3014257/judge-says-midwest-city-can-use-eminent-domain

[Pixie Kobichenko]

3 minutes ago, Rat Luv said:

I like 'cattywumpus' 🙂 Can imagine it as a SL last name...

Sure I saw something on YT once about 'bless your heart', doesn't it really mean "You're an idiot"?  

LoL that’s EXACTLY what it means when delivered  in a particular way.  Sometimes it is sincere tho, like a small child gifting handfuls  dandelions & deadnettles 😃. 🌸 

[Rowan Amore]

21 minutes ago, Rat Luv said:

I like 'cattywumpus' 🙂 Can imagine it as a SL last name...

Sure I saw something on YT once about 'bless your heart', doesn't it really mean "You're an idiot"?  

Nooo.   It means when something is out of whack,.out of alignment but I supposed someone's thinking can be cattywampus.  There's a thread here and there in the forums like that.

Eta.  Oh, sorry.  Misread your post.  But yeah, Pixie is right about 'bless your heart'.   

I do use cattywampus quite often.  Shenanigans, willynilly, hullaballoo....lots of silly.words.

Edited June 30, 2021 by Rowan Amore

[Storii Darkheart]

From Russian, Яблоку негде упасть.

"The apple has no room to fall"

Used for times when there's no space around, no room, tight spaces, etc.

[Drayke Newall]

Geez some Australian ones will get me banned... I'll post some reasonably clean ones.

Dry as a dead dingo's donger - means to be very dry

Flash as a rat with a gold tooth - means your dressed up to the nines or flashy

Flat Out Like a Lizard Drinking - means you are busy though is usually just shortened now to Flat out

Mad as a cut snake - furious

Spit the dummy - means throw a tantrum (dummy here is a pacifier for you people in America)

Do a Harold Holt - sudden or unexplained disappearance (came about after our Prime Minister went swimming at the beach and disappeared never to be seen again)

Do a Bradbury -  win something unexpectedly (came about after Steven Bradbury won the winter Olympic gold for speed skating after all other contestants fell over at the last minute)

Chuck a sickie - fake being sick to get a day off

[Paul Hexem]

2 hours ago, Rowan Amore said:

Devil's Strip. (tree lawn)

The strip of land between the sidewalk and the road which you pay taxes on but the city government can do whatever they want on such as put a sign, dig a hole, plant a tree.  The 'devil' being the tax collector.

This phrase is unique to North East Ohio.  Akron in particular where it is thought to have originated.

Not sure if this fits into this thread exactly but I've always found it fascinating that no one outside my area had ever heard it.

I've been having a good fight with my town over the edge of my property for years now. I now own about 45 street signs because they keep putting new ones back in...

[Rowan Amore]

20 minutes ago, Paul Hexem said:

I've been having a good fight with my town over the edge of my property for years now. I now own about 45 street signs because they keep putting new ones back in...

So Devil aptly applied in your case.

[Janet Voxel]

Let's see:

Avoir du fronte: It translates to you have a lot of forehead; it means you're bold.

Attache ta tuque: It translates to put on your hat; it's similar to American "Hold on to your hat" or get ready.

Le boss de becosses: It translates to the boss of the toilets; it means you think you're the ish.

Un depanneur or dep: It translates to a repairman; it means a cornerstore or a convenience store like 7/11 or Tesco Express

[Wulfie Reanimator]

Native: Älä tee syytä syyttömälle tai vikaa viattomalle. (Finnish)
Literal: Don't make reason [to the innocent] or fault [to the innocent].
Proper: Don't guilt the guiltless or harm the harmless. (or "don't guilt/accuse/blame the innocent")

It's one of the forbiddances from Väinämöinen (Wainamoinen), a character of Finnish folklore (1551 & 1888). They're similar to the moral foundations of the ten commandments, but not religious and I don't think there ever was just one set of these. (As folklore tends to be adapted differently by individual groups.)

I can do one more but this one's a struggle to translate:

Native: Ei parta pahoille kasva, turpajouhet joutaville. (Finnish)
Literal: No beard [for evil] grow, [goat-chin?] [for the lazy].
Proper: Bad men grow no beard, and useless men grow coarse.

Traditionally, a full beard was a sign of experience, wisdom, and manliness. It's a metaphorical statement -- I would interpret it as "if you're lazy, dishonest, or otherwise not what's expected, you're worth less as a person." It could also be interpreted as "Evil people don't survive. Lazy people suffer."

Edited June 30, 2021 by Wulfie Reanimator

[Rat Luv]

3 hours ago, Rowan Amore said:

I do use cattywampus quite often.  Shenanigans, willynilly, hullaballoo....lots of silly.words.

Heh...hullaballoo reminds me of a teacher we had in primary school. "What's this hullaballoo, I could hear you all down the corridor!"

People should use "codswallop" more too 🙂

Edited June 30, 2021 by Rat Luv

[Orwar]

   "Man skall icke kasta yxan i sjön." - Swedish

   "One shouldn't throw the axe in the lake."

   It basically means 'don't give up'.

   "Det finns inget dåligt väder, bara dåliga kläder" - Swedish

   "There is no bad weather, only bad clothes."

   I.e. you're playing outdoors so your parents can have some quiet in the house whether it's sunshine or raining sideways.

   "Har Du tagit Fan i båten, får Du ro honom i land." - Swedish

   "If you have brought the Devil in the boat, you'll have to row him shore."

   It means that if you have taken on something heavy or difficult to do, you still must see it to its completion. 

 

   Personally I'm partial to this variant though:

   "Har man kastat yxan i båten, for man ro som Fan." 

   "If you have thrown the axe in the boat, you'll have to row like the Devil." (Note that the word 'Fan' is both 'the Devil' and an expletive much like 'like Hell' or 'the f-word').

   Seems pragmatic, no?

[Arduenn Schwartzman]

I'll throw in a few corny and very stereotypical Dutch ones that are actually used quite commonly:

 

"Die heeft een klap van de molen gehad."

"They have had a clap of the mill." / "They got hit by the windmill."

They're crazy.

 

"Nou breekt mijn klomp."

"Now breaks my clump." / "Now my clog/wooden shoe is broken."

Well, that was quite unexpected.

 

""Als een paling in een emmer snot."

"As an eel in a bucket of snot."

In a very cunning way

[Doris Johnsky]

4 hours ago, Rat Luv said:

I like 'cattywumpus' 🙂 Can imagine it as a SL last name...

Sure I saw something on YT once about 'bless your heart', doesn't it really mean "You're an idiot"?  

"Bless your/his/her/their heart"

It was a way to say something that would reasonably be considered rude, but by adding "bless her heart', it took the rude away.

Ex: You go to see your co-workers new baby. After you and your other friend leave the house, you say to them,  "That is the ugliest baby I ever seen. Bless his heart."

[Sid Nagy]

Wie zijn billen heeft gebrand, moet op de blaren zitten. (Dutch)

(He) who has burned his buttocks , will have to sit on the blisters.

Meaning: if you do something stupid, you have to deal with the result\ consequences.

Edited June 30, 2021 by Sid Nagy

[Lindal Kidd]

"He gits up with the chickens": said of someone who starts the day early.

"He lies like a rug." Rugs are good at lying (flat on a floor). But in this case it means someone tells lies all the time.

"All": Texan for oil, as in "Yeehaw! I found all on mah land!"

[Fritigern Gothly]

Dutch:

"Oh, op die fiets!"
"Oh, on that bicycle!"
"Oh, so that's what you mean/that's how it's done!"

[Fritigern Gothly]

Dutch:

"Hoe gaan we dat handen en voeten geven?"
"How are we going to give that hands and feet?"
"How are we going to make this work?"

[Fritigern Gothly]

A little bonus with a plethora of Dutch idiom, literally translated to English (this is a commercial for an electricity company BTW)
 

 

[Maryanne Solo]

One I have never heard anyone else my age use but I am sure is popular? (of english origin).

Hey you Scallywags what is going on here ^^?

I use this with students aged from 16 to 40yo and they love it
Even immigrants smile when used just because of the way it sounds and is delivered.

Scallywag - a disreputable or untrustworthy person - up to no good.
When explained to non english speakers with a grin, a wink and a nod, no one has ever taken offence to it.