Ask Lemmy

Lithuanian here.

"Neperšokęs griovio, nesakyk 'op'“ (Don't say 'op' before you jump over the ditch) Don't brag about doing something before you did it.

"Bala nematė" (The swamp didn't see) When you are facing a dilemma and decide to just do something.

"Man šakės" (It's the pitchfork for me) Basically means “I'm fucked"

"Pagauti kampą" (To catch the corner) To understand something.

"Stogas važiuoja" (The roof is going away) Used to refer to someone who's going crazy.

"Pilstyti iš tuščio į kiaurą" (To pour from an empty one into a leaky one) to speak in meaningless statements.

"Pjauti grybą" (To cut the mushroom) to talk nonsense, or do meaningless tasks.

"Nevynioti žodžių į vatą" (Not to roll words into cotton wool) to speak directly and honestly.

"Palikti ant ledo" (To leave someone on ice) To ghost or abandon someone.

"Aiškintis santykius" (To clarify relations) To have a fight.

“Rodyti ožius" (To show the goats) To act stubborn.

There's a bunch of weird ones in Portuguese.

• "Caroço de manga não é sabonete" Do you think that mango seed is soap? = "this is an absurd proposal/situation/etc."
• "Pobre só sobe na vida quando o barraco explode" Poor people only ascend on life when the [shit]shack explodes. = "don't expect social ascension"
• "Enquanto vem com o milho, já comi a polenta." While you're bringing the corn, I already ate the polenta. = "I've already handled this, you're too late."
• "um polaco de cada colônia" a Pole from each settlement = a bunch of randomly picked people or items. I don't think that people use this too much outside Paraná.
• "farinha do mesmo saco" flour from the same bag = extremely similar in some aspects that matter (and usually negative ones)
• "comer o pão que o diabo amassou" to eat the bread kneaded by the devil = to go through rough times
• "Vai chupar prego até virar tachinha!" Go suck an [iron] nail until it becomes a thumbtack! = somewhat polite way to tell someone to fuck off
• "Vai ver se estou na esquina." *Go check if I'm around the corner." = also a way to tell people to fuck off
• "anta quadrada" squared tapir = "anta" tapir is used to call someone stupid, so anta quadrada is stupid to the power of two.
• "anta cúbica" cubed tapir = because some people do some really, really stupid shit.
• "mais louco que o Requião de pedalinho" crazier than Requião on a paddle boat = Requião is a politician here in Paraná known for his crazy antics. The phrase highlights that something is completely fucking crazy. Clearly local.
• "teu cu" your arse[hole] = definitively, clearly, and blatantly "no".

"public static void main string args", which translates to "i am going to start speaking now"

Czech has a lot of them!

Dělá z komára velblouda.
He's making a camel out of a mosquito.
= He's making it seem like a bigger problem than it is.

Nemaluj čerta na zeď.
Don't draw an imp on the wall.
= Don't be pessimistic. Don't assume the most catastrophic scenario.

Jsem tam pečený vařený.
I'm there baked cooked.
= I go there a lot.

Dala mi košem.
She hit me with a basket.
= She dumped me, or rejected my (mostly romantic) offer or advances.

Dělá jako by se nechumelilo.
He's pretending like it's not heavily snowing.
= He's pretending like something doesn't concern him. He's nonchalant about a serious situation.

Kápni božskou!
Drip the divine! (Subject implied. Probably "the divine truth")
= Tell the truth. Spill it.

Láme to přes koleno.
He's breaking it over his knee.
= He's forcing it.

Natáhnout bačkory / brka, zaklepat bačkorama
To stretch (one's) slippers / quills, to tap with (one's) slippers
= To die. To kick the bucket.

Padli jsme si do oka.
We fell into each other's eye.
= We hit it off.

Rozumí tomu jako koza petrželi.
He understands it like a goat understands parsley.
= He doesn't understand it.

Přišel jsem s křížkem po funuse.
I came with a little cross after the funeral.
= I came too late.

Házím perly sviním.
I'm throwing pearls to swines.
= I'm doing good work or acts of kindness that go underappreciated.

And I could go on :)

In Germany, we have:

"To not have all mugs in the cupboard anymore" ("Nicht mehr alle Tassen im Schrank haben") which translates to doing something incredibly stupid/crazy

"To search yourself a wolf" ("sich einen Wolf suchen) which means to search for something extensively and in the end unsuccesfully.

"To add one additional tooth" ("einen Zahn zulegen"), meaning to hurry, to do something faster.

"To defeat your inner pigdog" ("seinen inneren Schweinehund besiegen" - to get over one's lazyness, to stop procrastinating

In Czechia we have some interesting phrases about other countries: It's a Spanish village to me - I don't understand it. (For example I don't know how to program, it's a Spanish village for me.) He drinks like a person from Denmark - He drinks a lot of alcohol.

Not sure if it's a popular idiom or something my mom made up, but she would always say, "mas fácil cuadrar 100 micos para un foto".

It literally translates to "easier to gather 100 monkeys for a photo", and she used it whenever something was particularly difficult.

"yeah nah" - "that is a bad idea/I don't want to do that"

As in "hey mate, want to skive off and grab a quick one while the boss is away?" "Yeah nah, got too much stuff to do aye".

Contrast with the less common formation "yeah nah, yeah" - "that is a bad idea but I want to do it anyway"

One of my favorite examples in (American) English has to be "There's more than one way to skin a cat"; meaning there are multiple viable strategies for the task or problem at hand.

I never really appreciated how morbid it is until I saw the shocked face of a fluent but non-native english speaking colleague after using it in a meeting.

Anybody here ever think about the etymology of the word "ok"?

Supposedly it started as an abbreviation of "oll korrect" and became popular in the 1840's during a fad of abbreviating words a lot like we have "lol" or "omg" today. Then the abbreviation took on its own meaning and became one of the most widely used words to be borrowed by other languages, with a near universal meaning.

Now it even has its own word based on the pronunciation of the abbreviation, "okay".

The equivalent of that would be if the word "lol" became synonymous with laughter over the next 150 years to the point where the words "laugh out loud" look alien and outdated.

Ireland and particularly the Irish language (Gaeilge) has a lot of them.

My favourite one in Irish is

"Tá mé ar mhuin na muice" which literally means "Im on the pigs back" This means that you are well or that you are having a good day etc. Sometimes people will jokingly say this in English too, usually to friends family etc

"How are you today?" "I'm on the pigs back"

There's loads of other ones too that people say, many of which probably have roots in the Irish language but we don't know since the Brits made it illegal to speak Irish during their rule of Ireland.

"You're gas!" They are very funny. Sometimes used in addition to craic (craic, pronounced Crack, is an Irish word for good natured shenanigans or fun) You could say "They are gas craic all together" Meaning this person or people is exceptionally funny or enjoyable to be around.

Some others

"I will in me hole" I will not do that

"I will, yeah!" I will not do that

"It's mighty tack" Of good quality

"Ah sure, you know yourself now" Kind of like saying 'thats how it is I guess'

"If there was work in the bed, he'd sleep on the floor" This person is very lazy

"She'd pull up floorboards looking for pipe" This woman is promiscuous/ horny

"Tis steep enough" Said when commenting about the price of something being high

"There's an aul nip in the breeze" Said if it is somewhat cold outside

"Tis fierce close" It's warm/ humid outside

"It's Baltic" The weather is very cold

"It's a massive day" It's sunny and pleasant outside

"He's a bit of a black guard" (black guard, pronounced 'blaggard') This person is silly, funny or may not be trust worthy

"I battered him" I physically beat him up

"He's an awful messer" This person is playful, foolish or silly

"I'm wrecked" I'm tired

"I'm tipping away" Usually said in response to 'how are you?' It means I'm doing okay, taking it easy

"How's she cutting?" How is it going/ how has your day been

"Now we're sucking diesel!" Now we are doing well! Can sometimes be used as an exclamation when something goes well. If you fixed a problem or are making good progress.

"I'd do be at that the whole time" I do something regularly or habitually. Sometimes shortened into fewer sounds/syllables, sounding something 'I'd-d'be at dat the whole time' though that would usually be an older person with a very strong accent. Most Irish people these days would have a comparitively mild accent.

"Tis pure shite" It's very bad/ of poor quality

"A sniper wouldn't take her out" This person is unattractive

"He'd get up on a gust of wind" This person is very horny/ promiscuous

"I'm as sick as a small hospital" I am very unwell

"I'm as sick as a plane to Lourdes" Also means I am unwell. Older people like to travel to places of religious significance hoping for a miracle to heal them if they are sick or unwell.

"I'm as shook as a hand at mass" I am very stressed/ tired/ worn out. Comes from 'offering a sign of peace' in Catholic mass, where you shake the hands of everyone sitting next to you, in front and behind you.

There's a ton of others. They can also be quite regional. I'm from Cork in the south of the country, so these ones tend to be more popular here. There are other ones more commonly used elsewhere in Ireland.

Some in Swedish but I'll write down the literal translations first. Some I can't even begin to explain... kind of just have to be Swedish to get them

To cook soup on a nail. (Something impossible and ridiculous, can be used both seriously and ironically)

Clean as a watch (a smart solution, or good response to a problem can be, "clean as a watch". The expression is never used to actually describe something that's literally clean)

A bear favor (doing someone a favor that will do more harm than good, i.e. doing someone's homework for them)

In the time of the Duke. (When something was just in time)

Ice in the stomach (to keep your cool and be patient)

Fire for the crows (Being wasteful with fuel, you're basically just keeping your roof warm and cozy on the outside for the birds)

Acting like a larvae (being ridiculous and/or childish, not taking something seriously when you should)

And if you got this far down, I've got Spanish speaking extended family who sometimes call me what I've been told, literally means "lightbulb thief" (cause I'm tall I guess) but I forgot the Spanish word. Maybe someome can help me out with that.

In the Sesotho language of Lesotho, if you say to someone, "I'm not your mother", it's a terrible insult.

Another insult of equal vehemence is, "you are like a cat that jumps across a ravine and scribbles up the other side".

People in the village I lived in told me that either of these could result in someone being killed.