{"id":9387,"date":"2013-08-16T11:13:00","date_gmt":"2013-08-16T11:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/?p=9387"},"modified":"2026-01-15T20:19:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T20:19:10","slug":"idiotic-idioms-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/?p=9387","title":{"rendered":"Idiotic Idioms"},"content":{"rendered":"

I wrote a post the other day on idioms using the word “tongue<\/a>.” It got me thinking of the strangeness of idioms and how I really didn’t have another language to compare our idioms with. Well, a quick google search brought me this article in The Guardian<\/a> and this amazing list of idioms in other languages.<\/p>\n

1. To seize the moon by the teeth: attempt the impossible (French).<\/span><\/p>\n

I know that we take the bull by the horns, which actually has a slightly different connotation. It means to tackle a project directly. I can’t even imagine biting into the moon, especially if it’s made of cream cheese \ud83d\ude42
\n

\n2. To reheat cabbage: to rekindle an old flame (Italian). <\/span><\/p>\n

Now this is as un-romantic as anything I can imagine. It gives the concept of a cabbage roll a whole new meaning \ud83d\ude42
\n

\n3. When the crayfish sings in the mountain: never (Russian). <\/span><\/p>\n

Much more graphic then – in a month of Sundays or when Hell freezes over.
\n

\n4. Cleaner than a frog’s armpit: to be poor, broke (Spanish).<\/span>
\n
<\/span>
\nProbably nicer than “not having a pot to pee in.”<\/span>
\n
<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Heads of straw  – Hollow men – a poetic insult<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n



\n5. To think one is the last suck of the mango: to be conceited (South American Spanish). <\/span><\/p>\n

Now I have heard conceit referred to as “the cat’s whiskers” or “the cat’s meow.” Then again mangoes don’t grow in England so we wouldn’t naturally have this fruit as a reference point. Somehow “the last suck of the apple” doesn’t really translate.
\n

\n6. Onions should grow in your navel: a mild insult (Yiddish). <\/span>
\n
<\/span>
\nI am speechless – make that wordless. I can’t think of an insult using a vegetable. Please post any you may know. The best I could do is – You can’t make a silk purse from a sow’s ear.<\/span><\/p>\n

7. Brew tea from dirt under another’s fingernails: to learn a bitter lesson (Japanese).<\/span>
\n
<\/span>
\nI’m not sure what is worse – this drink or eating crow.<\/span>
\n
<\/span>
\n8. Belch smoke from the seven orifices of the head: to be furious (Chinese).<\/span>
\n
<\/span>
\nI’m still confused. I can’t seem to find 7 orifices in the head. Maybe one gets so angry that they really blow <\/span>their top!!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\nHave a day of compliments!!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I wrote a post the other day on idioms using the word “tongue.” It got me thinking of the strangeness of idioms and how I really didn’t have another language to compare our idioms with. Well, a quick google search brought me this article in The Guardian and this amazing list of idioms in other […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9388,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-words"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9387"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9387\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9389,"href":"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9387\/revisions\/9389"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}