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Weird and wacky expressions | ||
Tags: Idiom | Multilingual | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Multilingual Lounge |  | |
 meramarina Diglot Moderator United States Joined 5967 days ago 1341 posts - 2303 votes  Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: German, Italian, French Personal Language Map | Message 57 of 88 04 August 2010 at 9:01pm | IP Logged | ||
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My goodness. My worldview is changed forever. Or of Europe's map, anyway. This is a very educational place, isn't it?
I have a list in my bookmarks with one of my favorites: Panne d’oreiller (pillow failure) meaning: "To sleep in (usually when you are late for work / an appointment" In English, we tend to curse the alarm clock, but I see no reason not to to blame the pillows, too. Here's the list: French Idioms and their English Equivalents Edited by meramarina on 04 August 2010 at 9:02pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| kyssäkaali Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5553 days ago 203 posts - 376 votes Speaks: English*, Finnish | Message 58 of 88 06 August 2010 at 6:15am | IP Logged | ||
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Finnish:
>"Meni syteen tai saveen." Translation: "Whether it will go into clay or charcoal" Meaning: Don't be afraid to try even if you are at risk of failure >"Rapatessa roiskuu." Translation: "You'll splash when you plaster." Meaning: Shit happens. >"Ei tule lasta, eikä paskaa." Translation: "Not producing baby, nor shit." Meaning: That which you are putting so much effort in will produce nothing. >"Kuin juosten kustu." Literal translation: "Like a pee on the run." Used when something is done in a sloppy manner. >"Rohkea rokan syö, kaino ei saa kaaliakaan." Literal translation: "A brave man eats the soup, a shy won't even get cabbage." Used to motivate someone to do a certain thing. >"Oma maa mansikka; muu maa mustikka." Literal translation: "Other land blueberry; own land strawberry." Translation: "Foreign places are nice enough, but home is sweeter." >"seistä/olla kuin Ellun kanat" Translation: stand/be like Ellu's chickens Meaning: stand around with your thumb up your ass >Heitä homo voltti "Hey queer, do a somersault" General insult. (I absolutely love this and use it all the time, and I'm a gay man to boot, hahaha) >Sataa äkäisiä ämmiä äkeet selässä "To rain angry hags with harrows on their backs" To rain cats and dogs 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Lakkhamu Diglot Groupie Turkey Joined 5244 days ago 63 posts - 65 votes Speaks: English, Turkish* Studies: Latin, German, Russian | Message 59 of 88 11 August 2010 at 8:58am | IP Logged | ||
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Turkish:
"Her yiğidin bir yoğurt yiyişi vardır." Translation: Every hero has his own way of eating his yoghurt. Meaning: Everyone has his own ways of doing things which we can't blame or accuse them. "Akacak kan damarda durmaz." Translation: The blood which would flow does not stay in the vein. Meaning: If something will happen, it will happen. "Akıl yaşta değil baştadır." Translation: Mind is not in the head but it's in the age. Meaning: No matter how old a man is, this doesn't mean he's wise. "Ağaç yaşken eğilir." Translation: A tree bends when it's wet. Meaning: You can change a person only when he's young or weak (dual meaning). "Azimle sıçan duvarı deler." Translation: If you sh*t with enough ambition, you'll break the wall. Meaning: With enough dedication, everything is possible. "Kafayı yemek." Translation: Eating your head. Meaning: Used when someone acts without thinking and stupidly. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| maydayayday Pentaglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5219 days ago 564 posts - 839 votes Speaks: English*, German, Italian, SpanishB2, FrenchB2 Studies: Arabic (Egyptian), Russian, Swedish, Turkish, Polish, Persian, Vietnamese Studies: Urdu | Message 60 of 88 07 September 2010 at 1:40pm | IP Logged | ||
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Lancashire Dialect English:
Tha's not the fowest man ave ever seen but thee favvers him. You are not the ugliest person I have ever seen but you have a certain resemblance. a good natured insult. Taught it to dozens of Japanese engineers. 4 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Arekkusu Hexaglot Senior Member Canada bit.ly/qc_10_lec Joined 5381 days ago 3971 posts - 7747 votes Speaks: English, French*, GermanC1, Spanish, Japanese, Esperanto Studies: Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Estonian | Message 61 of 88 07 September 2010 at 3:21pm | IP Logged | ||
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I could never quite over the English "What can I do you for?". Everytime I hear it I feel like giving a price.
2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| s_allard Triglot Senior Member Canada Joined 5430 days ago 2704 posts - 5425 votes Speaks: French*, English, Spanish Studies: Polish | Message 62 of 88 13 September 2010 at 4:53pm | IP Logged | ||
This of course is a playful inversion of "What can I do for you?". It reminds me of the pun "in one swell foop" based on the expression "in one fell swoop". Both examples illustrate very well the basic mechanism of puns. To decode one form, you have to know the other. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| ἄθεος Hexaglot Newbie Malaysia Joined 5168 days ago 2 posts - 2 votes Speaks: Hindi, Indonesian, Tamil, Urdu Studies: Dari, Spanish, Persian, English*, Malay | Message 63 of 88 01 October 2010 at 9:09pm | IP Logged | ||
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In Persian:
"Dast-e-dard nakonad" literally meaning "May your hand not hurt" which is the polite way of saying "thank you." Or you could just take the easy way out and say "Merci" ;) "Khak tu saret" meaning "dust on your head." Meant as an insult when someone does something foolish or silly. In Malay: "Jatuh air muka" which would literally mean "the falling of one's facial water". This would mean losing one's pride or dignity. "Tersengih-sengih macam kerang busuk" meaning "Grinning like a rotten/bad oyster." This would be aimed at someone who's grinning for no apparent reason. Malay especially has many such "unconventional" phrases. I think it may have to do with the non-confrontational nature of the Malay culture. You wouldn't directly confront someone verbally - not if you could help it that is! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Old Chemist Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5173 days ago 227 posts - 285 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German | Message 64 of 88 02 October 2010 at 9:56pm | IP Logged | ||
English seems to be a language with a lot of strange expressions, be it in Australia or in England. My part of the world, Southern England, has the rather strange expression "I can't be arsed" being that you can't be bothered to do something. I don't think it's intended to cause offence, I didn't hear it until I was an adult - possible because I'm not from S.E. England originally. It amuses me how people get angry about language that they consider rude, for example the expression "I don't give a toss." People often think this has to do with an obscene use of the word "toss," when it refers only to coin-tossing - in other words the person couldn't even be bothered to toss a coin, let alone do anything serious about the thing. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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