“To coin a phrase” – what does that even mean? Turn a saying into money? It’s absurd. But not quite as absurd as many idioms we use. A popular English idiom is “It’s raining cats and dogs”, a phrase that means very little but tells us much about the English love for miserable weather and household pets. Every country has its share of sayings that will baffle just about every other country, and some are simply awesome and should be universal. Here are a few that you will almost certainly want to add to your everyday lexicon.
“Don’t count the skins until the bear is dead” – Poland
A hardcore version of the more timid “Don’t count your chickens before they’ve hatched”. This phrase came about due to Poland’s history being more based on hunting rather than farming. The chicken one is rubbish compared to the visceral bear imagery, and it’s obvious which one all people everywhere should use.
“To stand with your beard caught in the postbox” – Sweden
This odd phrase means to have your plans ruined, or simply to be stuck with a problem. Getting your beard stuck in a postbox would definitely be a problem. Can you imagine all the people trying to stuff their letters in while your face was blocking entry to it? Carnage.
“You can’t have a full barrel and a drunk wife” – Italy
The Italian take on “Having your cake and eating it” decries that you just can’t have everything, especially when it comes to drink and your marriage.
“It’s a carrot” – South Korea
When something is obvious, or self-evident, then in Korean you can say it’s a carrot. Why exactly they say this is, ironically, not even slightly apparent.
“I’m going where the Tsar goes on foot” – Russia
The Tsar was driven everywhere by carriage, but obviously there’s one modest room in every building which is the great equaliser – even Tsars have to wipe their own bum.
“He’s blowing the cow” – China
A reference to inflating ox skin for use as a float to cross rivers, the statement “He’s blowing a cow” when used today means that somebody is bragging. How this came about, who knows? But it sounds fantastic, particularly since to the untrained ear it sounds like it could have any number of meanings. “That Barry, with his all his talk about his fancy holidays – I don’t wanna hear him blowing the cow.”
“Eye scum laughing at nose scum” – Japan
This is a reference to people being hypocritical, much like “the pot calling the kettle black” in the English language. “Eye scum laughing at nose scum” has an earthier feel with its repulsive imagery though, making it far superior. What’s the proper name for eye scum anyway? People say “rub the sleep from your eyes”, but that’s a metaphor, isn’t it? Oh, Language, how you confuse us.
“He’s like a racing mackerel” – Portugal
Albeit delicious, the mackerel is a modest and unimpressive fish so the idea of them racing around is a bit silly. It won’t surprise you that this phrase is a reference to someone who foolishly thinks they’re a much bigger fish than they really are.
“The poison of a snake!” – Iran
In the Persian language of Farsi, instead of telling an irritating person to “Shut up”, Persians admonish them with “The poison of a snake!” We’re guessing this is because if you don’t shut up, they’ll get a venomous snake to bite you. That’s way more hardcore than just telling them to be quiet.
“May God’s horse f*** you!” – Hungary
The ultimate putdown in Hungarian conjures up unexpected and epic images of God riding a horse. Terribly rude, but super badass – use with caution!
Featured image by Brett Jordan
