It seems that you're using an outdated browser. Some things may not work as they should (or don't work at all).
We suggest you upgrade newer and better browser like: Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer or Opera

×
Community
General discussionInternational question: Idioms(8 posts)(8 posts)
(8 posts)
Pages:
1
This is my favourite topic
Posted February 09, 2014
I have a few :)

"Ryba psuje się od głowy" = "The fish rots from the head on down" this is supposed to mean that something is rotten to the core. This is a well-known Polish idiom.

"Close enough for government work" - something I heard while living in the South. Basically, this means that something meets the minimum standards.

"Fake it until we make it" - means basically do what you can until you get by.

"If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with BS" - sort of similar to "fake it till we make it" :D
Posted February 09, 2014
avatar
JudasIscariot: "Ryba psuje się od głowy" = "The fish rots from the head on down"
avatar
Telika: I... know SOMEONE who has used a version of this as a title for his research on routine corruption.
Yeah, basically that idiom kind of alludes that if an organization is corrupt it usually stems from the top :)
Posted February 09, 2014
Dug up another well-known Polish idiom:

"Psy szczekają, karawana idzie dalej" = "The dogs are barking but the caravan moves on"

In English, this would amount to "you can complain all you like but it's not going to change anything",
Posted February 09, 2014
avatar
Enebias: Well, let me see... here are some italian idioms: I don't think anyone ever used them on a forum, but knowing them might be interesting, especially because we use them pretty often in everyday life.

-Ogni morte di Papa: "Every time a Pope dies" means "extremely rarely" (I always found that hilarious, we have a very... controversial relationship with the Catholic Church)

-Tra il dire e il fare c'è di mezzo il mare: means "Between saying and doing is the sea", the fact that good intentions are not easily followed by good actions.

-Essere al verde: "to be at the green", it means that one is broke. This one is ancient: it comes from a common use of the medieval italian city-states, were everyone that could not repay debts was forced to wear a green cap in sign of shame, so to alert other potential contracting parties.
Esser al verde is close to the "being in the red" in English which means being in debt. losing money etc. :)
Posted February 09, 2014
avatar
JudasIscariot: Esser al verde is close to the "being in the red" in English which means being in debt. losing money etc. :)
avatar
Enebias: I didn't know that! Could they have similar historic roots? Well, it seems today I learned something new! :)
I remembered a couple more:

-In bocca al lupo: "into the wolf's mouth", means "good luck", and the proper response is "Crepi!", "May the wolf die"! The meaning of this one is obvious.

-Alzare il gomito: "to rise the ellbow", means "drinking too much".

-Gallina vecchia fa buon brodo: "old chicken makes good soup" I'll leave to you the interpretation of this one, since it could be used for almost anything!
In the U.S., one of the more popular idioms for good luck is, I kid you not, "break a leg". All I know about that one is that it stems from show business.

There is a Polish idiom about drinking too much but the one I know uses a couple of offensive words in Polish :D. But the English version of "drinking too much" is "three sheets to the wind".

Speaking of animal related idioms, "going into the lion's den" basically means having to face a very difficult situation. I believe it stems from the biblical story of Daniel literally going into the lion's den :)

Here's a haircut related one: "getting your ears lowered". Why? because when your hair gets longer it covers up your ears which makes it look like they went up :)
Posted February 09, 2014
avatar
JudasIscariot: I have a few :)

"Ryba psuje się od głowy" = "The fish rots from the head on down" this is supposed to mean that something is rotten to the core. This is a well-known Polish idiom.

"Close enough for government work" - something I heard while living in the South. Basically, this means that something meets the minimum standards.

"Fake it until we make it" - means basically do what you can until you get by.

"If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with BS" - sort of similar to "fake it till we make it" :D
avatar
zeffyr: It's funny because I can't recall examples 2-4. Are we talking about the same Polish language? :)
2-4 are U.S. idioms, mostly used in the South, IIRC :)
Posted February 11, 2014
avatar
jamyskis: "Wo der Hund begraben ist", lit. "where the dog is buried", means the middle of nowhere where nothing is happening. Usually refers to isolated villages where fuck-all happens.
In Polish, we have "...i tu jest pies pogrzebany" = "and this is where the dog is buried" which means you've found the root cause of a problem or the root cause of anything, really.

Some more American ones:

"Up to my knees in alligators" means you are very, very busy or you have a ton of small things you need to take care of ASAP.

"Safe as houses" means it's a safe bet.

"Butterflies in my stomach" means being slightly stressed but in a good way, eustress instead of distress, for the most part.
Posted September 20, 2015
avatar
real.geizterfahr: Am Arsch hängt der Hammer ---- The hammer is attached to the ass
avatar
Sanjuro: Looks somewhat similar to "руки (растут) из задницы" - "arms (grow) from the backside", we use it when speaking about a clumsy, unskilled or just good-for-nothing worker.
You could say that "he/she is all thumbs" or "has two left hands" or that "they are ham-fisted" to denote someone as being clumsy or good for nothing :)
Pages:
1
This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussionInternational question: Idioms(8 posts)(8 posts)
(8 posts)