National sayings and phrases - directly translated

[Sean C]

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!"

[Eisenwurst]

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

[GoldenRivet]

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.

[Reece]

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

[Jimbuna]

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

[Rockstar]

You're "dumber than a bag of hammers" or "slower than steam of 'poop'. I use those one a lot when I was in the service.

[Sean C]

Originally Posted by GoldenRivet

"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.

I heard these all the time growing up ... and still do.


When I moved from southern to northern Virginia, people often asked me if I was from Kentucky or some such because I said things like "y'all" and "over yonder". I was constantly having to explain that I was from the very state we were in.


Just goes to show how much language can vary ... even in a relatively small geographic area.

[Jimbuna]

Blow your socks off - Something which ‘blows your socks off’ is an astonishingly good thing.

[Aktungbby]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

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

...not in Phuket! and "a hell of a 'git' you got''!

[Commander Wallace]

Originally Posted by Rockstar

You're "dumber than a bag of hammers" or "slower than steam of 'poop'. I use those one a lot when I was in the service.

My dad said something similar. " You're dumber than a box of rocks."


I have used that saying a lot in my life.

[Jimbuna]

To cost “an arm and a leg” - If something costs an arm and a leg, it’s very expensive.

[mapuc]

Some more Danish sayings.

The tip of a jet fighter
Cost a farm

These two is related to something that cost a lot of money.

Markus

[Jimbuna]

To steal someone’s thunder - means to take credit for something someone else has done.

[Jimbuna]

"A few sandwiches short of a picnic" - Someone that lacks common sense might be described as "a few sandwiches short of a picnic."

[Von Due]

"Funker som juling" = "Works like a beating/thrashing" - Works real well