What are some (non-English) idioms, and what do they mean (both literally and in context)? Odd ones, your favorite ones - any and all are welcome. :)

For example, in English I might call someone a “good egg,” meaning they’re a nice person. Or, if it’s raining heavily, I might say “it’s raining cats and dogs.”

  • mumblerfish@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    In Swedish there is

    “Now the boiled pork is fried”, meaning sometging has gone too far

    " be on the cinnamon", to be drunk

    “Put the legs on your back”, to run

    “You are out biking”, you are missing the point

    “Pay[back] for old cheese”, to get revenge

    " bear-favour", is a favour that gives bad results

    “Now you’ll see other buns”, things will get rough

    " there are no children being made here", nothing is happening/its boring/lets go

    “Satan and his aunt”, all kinds of people/everyone

    “Good day, axe-handle”, something like saying “yeah, you dumbfuck” after getting a nonsense repley from someone

    “In only the brass”, to be naked

    “Show where the cupboard will stand”, to firmly make a decision

    “You cupboard”, miss the point, being stupid

    " shit in the blue cupboard", to make a mistake

    Edit: forgot a good one:

    “Get your thumb out of your ass”, to stop doing nothing and start doing something

    • ALQ@lemmy.worldOP
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      4 months ago

      I thought “be on the cinnamon” was going to be my favorite, but the list just kept getting better. I think you ended on the best.

    • Lvxferre@mander.xyz
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      4 months ago

      " there are no children being made here", nothing is happening/its boring/lets go

      My sides went into orbit. How else would someone entertain themself, when this expression was coined? TV is a recent invention, after all…

    • crispy_kilt@feddit.de
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      4 months ago

      " bear-favour", is a favour that gives bad results

      Almost the same in German, “Bärendienst” means a bear’s service, means a bad service or one which did much more damage than help, usually unintentionally

    • stoy@lemmy.zip
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      4 months ago

      If you are ever visiting Öland, and stop by Solliden, our King’s summer retreat, you can go into a café and they have the toilets in a room you enter through a blue cupboard.

      So yes, I have shat in the blue cupboard at the Kings summer retreat

    • cikano@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      Forgot: “Fastnat med skägget i brevlådan” Literal meaning being: “Stuck with your beard in the mailbox” which is basically saying you’ve fucked up and are getting caught in the act

    • Drusas@kbin.social
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      4 months ago

      Interestingly, English has the same exact expression (“get your thumb out of your ass”).

    • BruceTwarzen@kbin.social
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      4 months ago

      There are no children being made here made me laugh so hard when i tried to imagine to translate it and use it randomly