One of my favorites translates as âI know you codfish, even though youâre in disguise.â
Te conozco bacalao, aunque vengas disfrazado. (maybe?)
Something along the lines of âI know what youâre up to.â
Best German idiom ever, IMHO: Einen Kater haben. Literally, to have a tom cat - have a hangover.
Might have mentioned it here beforeâŚ
I picked up a fun little book ages ago called Idiomâs Delight: Fascinating Phrases & Linguistic EccentricitiesâŚ
She presents similar idioms in English, French, Spanish, Italian, and Latin.
Europe and Japan - not really âAround the Worldâ.
Why do the wolf and the hare have two eyes on the same side of the head? Are these types which live on their sides on the ground, like landflounder?
I was just going to gripe about that. Flounder wolf creeps me out!
I have never heard âavoir un demon du midiâ, so I looked it up. âMid-life crisisâ doesnât really mean the same thing. You could buy a red 'Vette because of a mid-life crisis. Sleeping with the babysitter is what the midday demon is about.
One of my favourites is âI need to talk to a man about a horseâ.
âthrow yourself over the houses.â â get lost
âto crawl on ones gumsâ â to be in a really bad state
Two Austrian examples (although the second one could work in Germany as well, I´m not sure)
Iâm partial to âgo comb a monkeyâ
Get lost⌠Take that bone to another dog. (Donât recall if that was French or Spanish)
The Danish expression means âto be (very) drunkâ. I have no idea where the illustrator found his translation, but he didnât ask the Danes.
A few of Welsh ones:
âRhoiâr ffidl yn y toâ - âPut the fiddle in the roofâ, or to give up
âDros ben llestriâ - âOver the dishesâ, or to go âover the topâ, to extremes
âBwrw hen wragedd a ffynâ - similar to âraining cats and dogsâ, except itâs âraining old ladies and sticksâ
Iâve heard that one, âA otro perro con ese huesoâ
Spanish, no idea which country though.
This list is the dogâs bollocks.
Such a grandpa idiom. I love it.
My favorite is âmenos burros, mĂĄs elotesâ meaning (basically) if you donât like it, thereâs more for the rest of us. (Fewer donkeys, more corn cobs.)
Now, I just need to figure out a way to incorporate âNot my Circus, Not my Monkeysâ into conversation.
And Russia.
I like the German compound word Backpfeifengesicht.
Iâm familiar with that as âI need to see a man about a dogâ. Then thereâs the classic âI have to go drop the kids off at the poolâ.
UKâs Viz Comic had a cartoon in the early days called Hugh Phemism, about a character who would use obscure or made up euphemisms to try and express himself, and completely fail to communicate. âI need to shave a horse⌠I mean, I need to strain my greens. I need to take a Chinese singing lessonâŚâ
Patience you must have, my young padawan. It wonât be long until somebody will try to coerce/manipulate/shame you into fighting in their pet war.
