National sayings and phrases - directly translated
 

We have sayings in the country we live in. For people who live in these country these sayings are normal, but directly translated into English it may sound weird.

So I will start with some sayings and phrases used in the Danish language.

Let's fart about the price
There's no cow on the Ice
just pat the horse


So what kind of sayings or phrases do you have in your country who will sound weird directly translated into English

Each of these sayings or phrases has they equivalent in the English language

Markus

Here in Australia we speak a modified form of English developed from our convict ancestors.

Some examples:-

" They couldn't run a chook raffle".

" She bangs like a dunny door in a hurricane".

" Check out her Arthritis".

Not related to anyone :O:
"Alles hat ein Ende, nur die Wurst hat zwei."

~All in life has an end, only a sausage has two.

My dad had a saying that I'm sure others have heard too. " Sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes the bear eats you." Translated, the law of averages catches up with everyone at some point.


My lady has told me at one point or another, " You know, you could screw up a one car funeral. " :D

I imagine there are a lot of sayings in American English that have been taken from other languages. We are a melting pot you know. ;)

One of my favorites which I think is of Slavic origin is: "Not my Circus, not my monkeys." I really like that one.

Two of my favorites are, "Boat really means Break Out Another Thousand." and " A gold mine is a hole in the ground with a liar at the top."

Oh you are awful, but I like it!! :har::har:

I particularly like the Welsh equivalent to "it's rainimg cats and dogs":

It's raining old ladies and sticks

Something about the visual of it :D

Here's a long shot you may have heard, "May a chicken kick you backwards". :D

I can almost remember how to say it in Slovak, I heard it from a bunch of relatives over the years, and I still have NO idea what it really means. :doh:

"Doch selten hält das rote Licht
von nah, was es von fern verspricht"

Favourite quote from a friend when we approached a traffic light, but it certainly means something different :O:

"Seldom the red light close keeps the promise, it promises from far away."

Most of those sayings rhyme in german, so some is wasted after translation. And there is no english word for "doch" :hmmm:

"A few sandwiches short of a picnic"

An off topic answer to Catfish
I think the word "However" comes closes to the German word Doch.

Markus

End of an off topic....

...one brick short of a load (that's load in the very derogatory sense):D

"Barking up the wrong tree"

My grandmother had a lot of funny sayings. I can't remember all of them. But one that always made me laugh was what she said when someone did something stupid:


"You ain't got the brains God gave a wooden goose!"

"I'm drier than a pommie's bathmat".- Let's go and have a drink !:)

Some i have heard float around in Texas... where much like our aussie friends, everything is bastardized english in which many things that wouldnt normally have a contraction, in fact do, and sometimes two or three, even four words flow together to form a sort of single sound.

"Its' Hotter'n two squirrels screwin'n'a whool sock!" - ie. very hot outside

"Drunker'n Cooter Brown." - ie. Very drunk.

"Runs lak-a-scalded dog (or; ape)." - ie. your car, motorcycle, etc is capable of great speed.

"Fixin' to" - ie. i am preparing to do some task. (Fixin' to Eat - Fixin' to go to dinner etc)

"Same difference" - an odd way of saying that two apparently different proposals or problems etc are in fact the same no matter which way you view them.

:shucks:

What's the definition of pain: Teeth marks in the dunny door. :oops:

Beat around the bush - To be indirect, and perhaps even reluctant or tricky, in saying or doing something.