What weird idioms/phrases does your language have?

Justas, 1 year ago

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.

lvxferre, 1 year ago

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”.